Why the Northern Lights

[scarlettina]

The New York Times reports that scientists have discovered what triggers the northern lights. They picked up the story from the journal Science, where you can read the original report. This, my friends, is pretty damn cool.

I admit, however, that the romantic in me is a little sad. Another mystery of the universe is no longer quite so mysterious. It's still cool, though. ::grin::

Comments

[caryabend.livejournal.com]

I found the romance in the beauty and sense of peace that the aurora gives me. The mystery never really goes away. Every time we get an answer, it just generates more - and tougher - questions. Yeah, we peeled back a layer, but the universe never ceases to remind us that it doesn't have to try all that hard to keep us amazed and in awe. Now, that's cool. :)

[sinthrex.livejournal.com]

Ya, just because they've found an answer, doesn't mean they've found _the_ answer.

[e-bourne.livejournal.com]

They are amazingly beautiful. Knowing why they occur doesn't make them less magnificent. I doubt that we will ever unlock all the answers since every new answer, fractal-like, spawns even more questions.

[gamethyme.livejournal.com]

One of my strongest Montana memories is of the Pleiades meteor shower shooting through the Northern Lights.

The fact that it was rocks burning up in atmosphere highlighted by a magnetic anomaly didn't make it any less amazing.