Auroras have amazed people all over the world for millennia with their mesmerizing light dance across the night sky. In case you’ve ever been fortunate enough to witness the northern or southern lights in person, it likely won’t surprise you that they’ve inspired countless myths and legends all over the world.
This phenomenon is brought on by the interaction between solar particles and our planet’s atmosphere. The remarkable spectacle occurs near Earth‘s poles and manifests as a stunningly colourful display, almost as if the sky were ablaze with light.
Scientists are still studying auroras today, and likewise, our ancient ancestors tried to make sense of the phenomenon themselves, developing their very own, way more whimsical explanations steeped in wonder, fear and awe.
Here we take a more in-depth take a look at the wealthy mythology of auroras, from ancestral spirits to indicators of impending doom, and likewise got down to debunk some common misconceptions.
A present from the gods
Many cultures attribute auroras to divine beings. While some believed them to be the workings of the gods, others thought they were a pathway to the afterlife.
The Vikings celebrated the northern lights, as for them it meant their god Odin had sent the Valkyries — often depicted as female warriors riding on horses through the skies — to retrieve the souls of fallen warriors and take them to Odin’s hall Valhalla. In response to the travel site Norwegian Travel the Vikings believed the aurora was light reflected off of the Valkyries’ battle armor. Other Nordic legends suggest that the northern lights were the breath of soldiers who had died in battle, and in some tales, the aurora was claimed to be the “Bifrost Bridge” leading those fallen in battle to Valhalla, in response to the travel site Norweigan Coastal Express, Hurtigruten.
Many North American tribes even have their very own explanations for the aurora. In response to the travel website the Aurora Zone, the Cree Indians consider the northern lights are the spirits of the departed trying to speak with family members still on Earth. The Algonquins’ belief is that the northern lights are from a fireplace built by their creator Nanahbozho to remind them that he’s watching over them. The people of distant Nunavik Island told tales that describe the aurora as walrus spirits playing ball with a human skull.
A selected poetic aurora myth stems from Finland, where it was believed that the sunshine show was created by the fabled fire fox sprinting across the snow so quickly that it caused sparks to fly up and ignite the sky. The Finnish word for the northern lights “revontulet” translates as “fire fox,” in response to the Aurora Zone.
Symbol of hope and renewal
The term aurora borealis is derived from the Greek language where aurora means “sunrise,” and boreas means “winds,” in response to the travel site Arctic Kingdom. In Greek mythology, the character Aurora was the sister of the sun and moon gods and he or she would fly across the sky in a colourful chariot to signal the beginning of a brand new day. Similarly, the Romans believed that Aurora was the goddess of dawn. It’s intriguing to notice that each cultures associated the aurora with the start of a brand new day, despite the fact that the infamous light show is usually visible within the late evening.
For Swedish fishermen, an aurora sighting was a superb omen as they believed the lights were the reflections of giant schools of herring swimming nearby, in response to the travel site, Hurtigruten. For them, the northern lights weren’t something to fear but as an alternative were celebrated as they promised luck and a generous catch.
Similarly in Iceland, auroras were welcomed, but for a slightly different reason. Here, the northern lights were once thought to assist relieve the pain of childbirth. However the expectant mother must avert her gaze because if she checked out the lights her child can be born cross-eyed, so the story goes.
A foul omen
Not all cultures rejoice the northern and southern lights. For a lot of, it’s a nasty omen, one that would indicate impending doom and even carry you off into the sky.
On rare occasions, often, during heightened solar activity, the northern lights may be seen as far south as central and southern Europe. These auroras are often red in color and were once considered to be an indication of bloodshed. There are tales dating back to the Franco-Prussian War, the American Civil War, the French Revolution, and the Greater Wrath in Finland where magnificent red auroras were regarded as reflections of battlefields covered in blood, in response to the Finland travel and tourism site.
For the indigenous Finno-Ugric people of northern Scandinavia often called the Sámi, auroras are considered to be the souls of the dead and are each feared and revered in equal measure, in response to Hurtigruten. It’s believed that for those who be a magnet for the aurora, it could reach down and carry you off into the sky. As such the Sámi try to keep a low profile when the aurora borealis is present. Meaning no waving, whistling, or singing, and even to at the present time, many Sámi stay indoors when the lights are overhead, simply to be on the protected side.
Down under, the aurora australis, or the southern lights, are a very important a part of Aboriginal astronomical traditions and infrequently related to fire, death, blood and omens — very similar to many Native American cultures. Aboriginal communities commonly see auroras as fires within the cosmos, in response to the tutorial site Australian Indigenous Astronomy.
The Gunditjmara community in western Victoria refers to them as puae buae meaning “ashes,” while the Gunai people of eastern Victoria consider them to be bushfires within the spirit world and a sign of impending disaster. The Dieri and Ngarrindjeri communities of South Australia view auroras as fires generated by sky spirits. In southwestern Queensland, the phenomenon is considered “feast fires” of the Oola Pikka — spirits that communicate with Elders through the aurora.
Common misconceptions — debunked
We asked Chad Blakley, founding father of the aurora travel tour company Lights over Lapland, to debunk some common misconceptions about auroras.
Chad Blakley is the founder and the unique guide for Lights over Lapland. Lights over Lapland is one in all the oldest and most trusted aurora borealis outfitters on the planet and is positioned in Abisko National Park, Sweden. The corporate was founded in 2011 and is now home to a team of highly trained skilled, aurora guides from everywhere in the planet.
It needs to be cold to see auroras
It is a common misconception that we hear on a regular basis. The reality of the matter is that the northern lights are happening twelve months a yr, 24 hours a day within the aurora zone — that’s the situation across the North and South Pole where the aurora is sort of at all times present. The rationale that almost all people think that it must be cold to see the auroras likely comes from the proven fact that the northern lights are often seen on the poles, where it is often cold. That said, a number of the strongest auroras of the season often occur across the spring and autumn equinox, which are literally the 2 times of all the aurora season.
Auroras only occur in the midst of winter
That is one other common misconception. The northern lights are present twelve months per yr, 24 hours a day. That being said, it have to be dark in an effort to see the northern lights. For the reason that auroras occur primarily within the polar regions, most photos and videos of the northern lights are captured in cold, winter-like conditions, which spreads this misconception.
You may’t see the aurora during a full moon
That is one other classic example of misinformation that has no basis the truth is. The underside line is that this: you’ll be able to absolutely see the northern lights during all phases of the lunar cycle. The first factor here is that a full moon could make it tougher to see weak auroras, but I’m a firm believer that a full moon, combined with powerful auroras, which are sometimes present during solar maximum is one in all the best combos, a sky watcher could ever ask for.
The rationale for this is straightforward: the brilliant moonlight illuminates the environment and permits you to see incredibly dimly lit landscapes with beautiful auroras dancing overhead. Our company offers numerous photographic expeditions with the only focus of capturing pictures of the northern lights, and I can see from experience that a big percentage of skilled photographers actually decide to travel with us during a full moon since it is such a photogenic and spectacular combination.
Auroras are limited to just a few years each decade
This isn’t one which we hear quite as often because the others, nevertheless it does come up on occasion. I suspected this likely comes from the proven fact that the sun goes through cycles of high activity and low activity every 12 to 13 years. This process is known as solar maximum and solar minimum.
I even have been out chasing the auroras for nearly 15 years which suggests I even have been an aurora guide during each solar maximum and solar minimum and I can say without hesitation that we do the truth is see auroras during each phases of solar output. The first difference is that in solar maximum, we are inclined to see more powerful and really extravagant auroras, whereas during solar minimum these extremely powerful auroras will not be quite as common — but they do still occur several times per season.
The truth is that there are auroras happening 24 hours a day seven days per week twelve months a yr and this has been happening so long as the Earth has been orbiting the sun. The excellent news is that we’re currently approaching solar maximum — and as luck would have it, It’s probably the most powerful solar maximums ever recorded. Which means the subsequent several years are an incredibly good time to travel to the Arctic and see the northern lights.
There’s one single best place to see the northern lights
It is a tricky one, as I consider that there may be actually one place on Earth that stands out as one of the best place on the planet to see the auroras. Numerous destinations prefer to market themselves because the “best” place to see the northern lights but the straightforward truth of the matter is that there are just a few conditions that have to be present to have a successful aurora sighting.
The primary is that you simply almost at all times have to be above the Arctic Circle or below the Antarctic Circle, within the aurora zone in an effort to increase the chances of seeing the lights. The second factor is that you simply need a transparent sky. The reality of the matter is that weather patterns above the Arctic Circle or below the Antarctic Circle are inclined to be very unstable with numerous heavy weather including snow, wind, rain, blizzards, etc. Taking each of the previous aspects into consideration, there may be ONE location that’s above the Arctic Circle and has a really high likelihood of clear skies. This location is Abisko National Park, Sweden. The rationale that Abisko stands out because the clear winner is the proven fact that it is true in the midst of a microclimate that results in more clear skies than another location within the aurora zone. This microclimate often called the “blue hole of Abisko” gives travelers from everywhere in the planet one of the best possible probability of success. But you don’t need to take my word for it — you’ll be able to read more in regards to the blue hole here, and you’ll be able to regulate the sky with Lights Over Lapland’s array of still, HD and VR webcams which have been keeping track of the sky for greater than a decade here.
Auroras are at all times green
This final topic is definitely something that our guides discuss during all of our tours. This misconception comes from the proven fact that the overwhelming majority of auroras that we see are the truth is green. That said, while green could be the most typical color of aurora, it’s most actually not the one color of aurora.
I even have seen green, red, blue, purple, pink, and even white auroras. When you find yourself within the aurora zone, it’s quite common to see a green aurora because that is the portion of the aurora that’s visible directly overhead at this longitude and latitude. As you travel further away from the aurora zones green becomes a rather less common color and red becomes a bit more common since the overwhelming majority of auroras are created by the oxygen layer within the atmosphere, and all oxygen-based auroras are green on the underside third and red on the highest two thirds which suggests that your geographic location on earth has a big impact on what color spectrum you might be capable of see.
Additional resources
You may learn more in regards to the northern lights at NASA’s aurora page. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center provides a 30-minute aurora forecast, and you’ll be able to watch livestreams of the northern lights on Lights over Lapland’s webcam page and via Explore.org.
Bibliography
The Aurora Zone. (n.d.). Mythology of the Northern Lights. The Aurora Zone. https://www.theaurorazone.com/about-the-aurora/aurora-legends
Dark side of the auroras – meanings & myths: Visit Finnish Lapland. Visit Lapland. (n.d.). https://www.lapland.fi/visit/only-in-lapland/lapland-northern-lights-myths-auroras/
History of the Northern Lights: Myths and legends. Hurtigruten Norwegian Coastal Express. (n.d.). https://global.hurtigruten.com/inspiration/experiences/northern-lights/myths-legends
Home. Australian Indigenous Astronomy. (n.d.). http://www.aboriginalastronomy.com.au/
Northern Lights and their myths. Arctic Kingdom. (2020, December 9). https://resources.arctickingdom.com/northern-lights-and-their-myths
Northern lights myths. Norwegian Travel. (2021, August 23). https://www.norwegian.travel/inspiration/northern-lights-myths