A Northern Light Called Steve – Citizen Scientists Will Get Boost in Shetland
A Northern Light Called Steve –
Citizen Scientists Will Get Boost in Shetland
The Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis are one of the great sights in the far north and I have always been fascinated by them. Indeed I remember in my French oral at school burbling on about des lumiers du nord, which is probably very poor French and I was rewarded with a fail. Just recently citizen scientists in Canada have found a new sort of northern light and they have called it: ”Steve,” that must be strong maple syrup they are sampling. A Canada amateur scientist posted a picture of Steve on FaceBook – an image which had never been seen or catalogued before. Experts showed it to be a hot stream of fast-flowing gas in the higher reaches of the atmosphere, not a true aurora. The European Space Agency sent instruments to measure it 190 miles above the surface of the Earth and it was much hotter inside the gas stream than outside it. And even more startling the 25km-wide ribbon of gas was flowing at a whopping 13,000mph. No slow coach that Steve, who was named after a character in the 2006 children's animation film, Over the Hedge.
One of Nature’s Great Displays
But real auroras stem from the interaction of solar particles with the Earth's magnetic field and aurora alerts are to soon to be available for Shetland for avid watchers like myself . Boffins from the University of Lancaster are going to install detection equipment on the islands to allow more people to experience this magical phenomenon. At the moment the most northerly detection equipment is in Aberdeen. With the new system Shetland would be its most northerly location for a detector. Did you know Scotland offers some of the best places to observe the aurora and if you fancy seeing these wonderful natural displays keep your eyes out for these alerts in the near future?
Fantastic Displays Here Too
Now I don’t like to blow James Pirie’s trumpet, och well I do a bit, but for very good reasons. We have excellent displays here too. Have you had a look at the expanded Portmeirion range that we do? It makes you think of summer even when the wind is howling around the door and cat looks like it’s been on holiday in the washing machine. Crisp whites and vivid colours just make you feel refreshed. My current favourite is taking my tea from the gorgeous Portmeirion - Botanic Garden Poppy Teapot and it is on special just now. Go on spoil yourself.
