Tuesday night, November 11, and for several nights thereafter, the universe treated skywatchers to an exceptionally bright, colorful Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, display.
The Northern Lights are colorful lights sometimes seen in the north sky at night. They are seen mainly in the northern areas of the country, and reach their full glory in the Arctic countries, with many countries offering northern lights tours.
The Northern Lights have fascinated men for centuries, and many theories have been brought forth to explain them. Some cultures felt it was spirits reaching out to the mortals below, and some felt they were a bad omen.
Today, scientists now believe the lights are a result of solar flare activity, bursts of energy called coronal mass ejections, that, when they interact with Earth’s atmosphere, create the colorful displays.
Sabrina McBride Photo
One of the earliest newspaper articles about them in Wyoming is this one from The Uinta Chieftain, Evanston, October 7, 1882 —The aurora borealis has shown most brilliant and beautiful recently, during the small hours of the night Streaks of light blaze up and radiate from the northern horizon, turn a blood-red color, and then fade out to a pale yellow; then after a brief interval of repose, the whole performance is repeated again and again. As seen by railroad men, the sight was grand from the top of Aspen hill, last night.
Sometimes, the Northern Lights were not immediately recognized for what they are. This from Cheyenne Daily Leader, January 30, 1892 –“The Light So Shined.“ The Reporter Also Ran but There Was no Fire. Those who happen to be out of bed about 4 o’clock yesterday morning saw a superlatively beautiful spectacle, The aurora borealis shone away to the northward like the resplendent hues of an early sunrise. The printers who mechanically make The Leader were just going home. A couple of reporters also were wending their way to their couches.
Seeing the magnificent hues of the far-away northern sky, the reporters naturally jumped to the conclusion that somebody residence in East Cheyenne was burning. They rushed up the street and brought back a quota of tired printers, to “setup” the report of the “fire.” while the reporters ran about two miles hunting for it. Then it occurred to them was the aurora borealis, popularly called the “Northern lights.” The printers were dismissed, and the reporters went to their homes “the back way,” and, to put it mildly, concluded they had had a wild goose chase.
At one time, explorers also felt they could harness the energy of the lights. The Wyoming Press, Evanston, May 4, 1901 – Evelyn B. Baldwin, who expects to plant the Stars and Stripes on the North Pole, sails tor Norway to Join the ships America and Frithjof, which have been fitted out by William Zigler the wealthy ex-Arctic explorer, who will supply funds to the amount of 91,600,000. The above illustration shows how electricity may be extracted from the Aurora Borealis, according to the theory of Mr. Baldwin. From that observation of the Aurora Borealis, he believes that it is a great force, which can be placed to control of human ingenuity. He believes that this force is electrical and that the polar regions hold great reservoirs of it which could be utilized for the propulsion of machinery and the working of dynamos. America is to carry this expedition.
The energy of the lights caused disturbances in electrical lines in 1903. Wyoming Tribune. Cheyenne, Wyoming, Saturday Evening, October 31 – Aurora Borealis Causes Widespread and very Serious Disturbances in Chicago And Points East to Paris. Polar Electric Forces Great Inconvenience Occasioned to Telephone, Telegraph, Electric Light Wires and Circuits by Strange Waves in Earth and French Trans-Atlantic Cable Company has to Suspend Business. – Chicago, Oct. 31. —Serious electric disturbances, said to be due to the aurora borealis or northern lights, caused great inconvenience to telegraph and telephone companies here to-day. Telegraph wires in all directions from Chicago felt the effect, in some localities causing a total cessation of business. Long distance telephone wires were similarly affected; communications being entirely suspended at times. One report said that huge waves, with high force, passed through the earth, paralyzing the strength of the wires. New York. Oct. 31. —The French Cable company gives notice that, owing to an extraordinary electric disturbance, they are informed by the European administration that business will be subjected to heavy delay. New York. Oct. 31. —A brilliant display of the aurora borealis early to-day interfered with telegraphic service in this vicinity All cablegrams were accepted subject to heavy delay
Sometimes, they were observed by the reporters. The Sheridan Enterprise, March 8, 1918 – Aurora Borealis – Last night the people in this region had the privilege of seeing the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, under unusual circumstances feature of last night’s manifestation was the heightened colors which predominated.
There was more red than is generally seen in this longitude and all of the colors seemed exceptionally brilliant Jim Wilson phones down from Dome Lake that he was able to watch it from 8:30 to midnight and that the lights shifted from the east to the north. The same thing was noted by observers here. What impressed Jim most and he has studied this phenomenon for years is that the red was more flaring last night than he had ever seen it before. The Aurora Borealis is by scientists associated in some complicated fashion with the appearance of spots on the sun and with the occurrence of magnetic storms.
It is said that positive electricity thrown off from the surface of waters in the tropics is carried northward by high air currents. These currents when they reach the poles bring the positive electricity born of the tropics into contact with the terrestrial negative electricity which in sat the poles. The result is a “luminous discharge of great brilliancy”
These Northern Lights have played startling roles in history from time to time. It is reported that in the year 1,000,when Europe was in a state of religious intoxication over the expected coming of the Millennium, the Northern Lights were seen unusually far south and that their mysterious flashes of red and purple were the signal for thousands of suicides.
Russian peasants have from time to time acted strangely and wildly under their spell. When we remember the distances traveled by these lights and think of the force stack of them (forces that harvest electricity in the warm waters of the tropics and mysteriously rush it to the poles to burst into flashes which are brilliant beyond description) we are not surprised that they have profoundly impressed both the dull savage and the highly trained scientist Man looks on, wonders, speculates —but never really knows the Why for it all. Nature plays such a colossal game and man—well, man watches their performance for so brief a time and while watching it realizes as to what a pitiable role he plays. The gods would laugh at him — if they only remembered that he exists
Uinta Chieftain Evanston, November 18, 1882 – The aurora borealis, or northern lights, presented a grand and wonderful spectacle last night. the people who live in the States, in the lower country, never see this phenomenon in such magnificent grandeur of bright and varying colors, as we of the mountain tops.
For the same newspaper
The Semi-Weekly Enterprise, Sheridan – June 2, 1908 – The Aurora Borealis – The aurora borealis, or northern dawn, is an electrical phenomenon which in high northern latitudes, especially in winter, illuminates the skies with streamers of light. As the streams of light have have a tremendous motion, they are called in many places the “merry dances”
They assume many shapes and a variety of colors, from a pale red or yellow to a deep red or blood color, and in the northern latitudes they serve to illuminate the earth and cheer the gloom of the long winter nights. The connection of the aurora displays with the disturbance of the of the magnetic needle is now regarded as an ascertained fact.
And this from The Wyoming Press, Evanston, October 23, 1909 – A quite brilliant aurora borealis was visible in the northern sky Monday night between the hours of 7 and 10 o’clock. A half-circle of yellow-green light cross the whole of the northern horizon, giving an illumination quite as bright as that of the full moon, and at intervals sending long waving streamers of the same-colored light nearly to the zenith. The appearance of the aurora this month is probably somewhat unusual as it is generally associated with extremely cold weather. It is likely that magnetic disturbances will be reported. The phenomenon was a beautiful one.
So, all sky watchers should be on the alert to checking the northern horizon occasionally after dark to see if the Northern Lights will treat us to a colorful display.
