Chapter One WHEN THE HEAVENS DANCE How does nature stage a breathtaking light show called the aurora borealis The night starts out like any other clear evening for stargazing until an unusual green cloud appears across the northern sky The cloud brightens and begins to take shape forming rippling curtains They grow in size and climb the sky and then patches of red appear as if the heavens are catching fire It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen before
when the heavens dance Then the sky explodes The curtains shoot up and cover the sky meeting straight above you like searchlights or lasers playing across the heavens But this display is much more complex and unpredictable It’s as if you’re looking down a tunnel of shimmering light All around you the colorful curtains ripple and dance like luminous veils being blown in a wind high above your head Bright greens mix with deep reds and pinks You might even catch sight of subtle blue and purple tints as you This photo of the aurora borealis was taken in Norway
northern lights sighting stand beneath the climax of nature’s most spectacular light show After a few minutes the display dims and fades into random patches of light switching off and on across the sky for the rest of the night What you have just witnessed is a grand display of northern lights also known as the aurora borealis the Latin words for northern dawn Compare this photo of the aurora borealis to the previous one It looks very different doesn’t it In this one it looks like streaks of red and green light in the sky
when the heavens dance Most people in North America might be lucky to see such an awe-inspiring spectacle once or twice a decade Perhaps only once in a lifetime People living in the northern United States especially Alaska and in Canada are more fortunate They can see outstanding displays of northern lights every few months with lesser displays shining in northern skies almost every week
