The Northern Lights
Acrylic on Canvas
24" x 30" x 1.5"
Here then, is the one I call The Northern Lights. A painting inspired by the natural celestial phenomena that’s fascinated me for years! There are tons and tons of morbid as well as inspiring stories, folklores and legends surrounding this intriguing play of lights (which are at times, supposedly accompanied by eerie crackling sounds...)
Some cultures say it’s evil and an omen of war and pestilence while others believe that their ancestors are guiding them towards “light” after death. Some even believe that only humans who have died violent deaths, as in warriors-in-wars can cross over to the Other-World that can be reached by walking this lit path. There are some who believe it’s the dead playing a match of football with a walrus’s skull or still others who think it’s the walrus’ spirit playing football with a human skull.... yes, this one beats me too. Some consider the lights to be a reminder of the Creator who then traveled to the North Pole for some well earned rest and it’s HER fire that lights up the sky.
Astronomy however seems to have dashed all these beautiful and fantastical theories and explained the world for what it is and in a nutshell too – energized atoms. These non-ticketed light and sound shows are produced by the collision of charged particles from Earth's magnetosphere with Earth's upper atmosphere. The collision in the atmosphere electrically excites electrons to take quantum leaps towards Earth, converting the electron's kinetic energy to visible light. Due to atomic oxygen, red and green are the most common colors. However different gasses interacting with the upper atmosphere do produce varied hues in the form of bands, curtains or streamers of colored light.
Also known as Aurora Borealis (Roman goddess of dawn), the Dance of the Spirits and various other equally fascinating names, this ethereal light performance can be viewed in the Arctic and Antarctic regions of the earth between the months of September to October and from March to April.
More information on Northern Lights can be found at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(astronomy)
Some cultures say it’s evil and an omen of war and pestilence while others believe that their ancestors are guiding them towards “light” after death. Some even believe that only humans who have died violent deaths, as in warriors-in-wars can cross over to the Other-World that can be reached by walking this lit path. There are some who believe it’s the dead playing a match of football with a walrus’s skull or still others who think it’s the walrus’ spirit playing football with a human skull.... yes, this one beats me too. Some consider the lights to be a reminder of the Creator who then traveled to the North Pole for some well earned rest and it’s HER fire that lights up the sky.
Astronomy however seems to have dashed all these beautiful and fantastical theories and explained the world for what it is and in a nutshell too – energized atoms. These non-ticketed light and sound shows are produced by the collision of charged particles from Earth's magnetosphere with Earth's upper atmosphere. The collision in the atmosphere electrically excites electrons to take quantum leaps towards Earth, converting the electron's kinetic energy to visible light. Due to atomic oxygen, red and green are the most common colors. However different gasses interacting with the upper atmosphere do produce varied hues in the form of bands, curtains or streamers of colored light.
Also known as Aurora Borealis (Roman goddess of dawn), the Dance of the Spirits and various other equally fascinating names, this ethereal light performance can be viewed in the Arctic and Antarctic regions of the earth between the months of September to October and from March to April.
More information on Northern Lights can be found at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(astronomy)
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