Earth and Space Science Project Abstract
LISTENING TO THE AURORA
Presenter:
Catherine Breckenridge, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 West Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506; reader@imsa.edu
Advisor:
Robert Brazzle, Ph.D., Science, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 West Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506; brazzle@imsa.edu; 630-907-5942
Abstract:
On August 12th, 2000, there was a display of the Northern Lights seen from Alaska to Texas, sweeping across Canada and the Untied States, including the town of Union Pier, Michigan where I saw it as an arc of white light. Union Pier is at roughly the same latitude as our city of Aurora, but as a rule, it is almost impossible to see the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, at our latitude. Displays, like those seen on August 12th, usually happen once a decade. That does not mean, however, that studying the aurora, or rather one of its generators, the magnetic storm, is impossible to do from here. Magnetic storms are the interactions between the earth's magnetic lines and the millions of ionized particles from the solar wind that impact the earth's atmosphere every minute. Some of these ionized particles are captured by the magnetic lines during a storm, sending the particles on a spiral journey between the magnetic poles of the earth, and also causing the captured particles to emit at radio frequencies. By determining the dominant chemical element and range of energy within these masses of particles, we might be able to determine a specific frequency at which most captured particles emit. Instead of observing the aurora by sight, it is possible that it can be observed by its radio emissions.