Green Lights in the Sky

A few days ago, I started a new challenge, a new change, I just needed something else to do with my life than other be on a computer all day. I’ll be watching movies, listening to music, Korean dramas, and series on one or two of the streaming sites or just sit waiting with my dog, till my lovely hubby come home from work.

I did not know what I was looking for I try a new job, a new attitude, or maybe a new hope. Then I found something interesting while looking on my Facebook account. And that inspire me to write.

My second challenge was to write about a green light.

So, I asked a couple friends Milagros and Javier both said at the same time: “Aurora Borealis”.

I laughed about it, they are so connected with each other, after many years together, that did not surprise me.

And of course, I started searching information about the Aurora Borealis online. I was amazed about the fact that there are two of this lights. I always heard of the Aurora Borealis but not about the Aurora Australis.

First, I will write a little information about the research I did while looking about these lights, that way I can make this story more real.

And "YES I said LITTLE this is not a school project for me to write 20 pages about it." Anyway, let me start with my research.

The Northern Lights are called Aurora Borealis, the Southern lights are called Aurora Australis.

The Aurora Borealis can be seen in Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and other places in the north near the North Pole. While the Aurora Australis can be seen in Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, and other places down to the South Pole.

Even though they are like siblings they are not identical at all.

"So, that means they are NOT twins, okay". Lets continue.

Both are seen in different times of the year. Alaska is the best place in the US to see the Aurora Borealis. Best time of the year to view this natural phenomenon is between December and March.

The southern island of Tasmania is the best place to see the Aurora Australis during the winter months from May to August. However sometimes they cannot be seen since none of these places are close to the South Pole.

Aurora comes from the Latin word aurorae. It was named Aurora Borealis in 1621 by Pierre Gassendi after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora. The Greek name its Boreas for the northern winds.

Both Auroras make a crackling noise. The noise begins above earth surface and is caused by the charged particles in the reverse layer of the atmosphere specially on a cold night. These charged particles make a discharge when particles from the Sun hit the inversion layer, and that is how the noise is created.

"Mmmm, very scientific right? Is like I know what I am saying". Ahemm, proceeding with the research.

Northern Lights are green, pink, violet, yellow, blue but seldom orange or white. Southern Lights takes the shape of a curtain of light, the color of the lights mostly is green, sometimes red, and occasionally blue, ultraviolet, infrared, yellow and pink. Depending on the altitude of the Auroras that is how the colors form. Usually both radiate a green light depending on the ions of the sun or sun winds.

Wow!! So amazing! "Love the colors of they have". Ahhh (sigh)

While I was searching for all this information, I thought of doing a painting inspired with both Auroras green lights.

Oh, by the way; "I have never seen personally either one of them, only I have seen pictures and the paintings online".

I am not an artist, but I will try my best. I am not Picasso, Van Gogh or any of the Great artists of the world of centuries ago or years to come but I can say I have learned something from Bob Ross, at least the Mountains I can do. I have a canvas right here along with, paint and brushes so, I will use them to do this “project”, as my mother-by-law says (this is how we call ourselves), Ohhh and by the way I am the daughter-by-law ha, ha, ha.

Let me explain something before I continue with my painting, while I am not professional, well… I have painted some little things a long, long time ago. So bear with me if it does not come as I wanted okay ha, ha, ha.

A few days later I started painting my so called Aurora. Ohh! Well let me tell you about the first paint I did:

I took the canvas, but…. well, ha, ha, the painting looks like a blob yup, aaaee blob, a completely blob, he, he.

My mother-by-law gave some advice, “If you look at it on a mirror, it might give you a better perspective at it”, but, NOOO!!!! not even the mirror made the “BLOB” look better

It looks like a little bitty sky (cue tiny funny voice) then a “BIG BLOB” (cue sarcastic voice) of green color, with tiny little nice flowers (cue tiny funny voice) at the edge on the bottom of the painting.

Which by the way I do not know if flowers grow with the low temperatures at the poles, but, this is my story not a research paper, remember??

Then I thought to myself:

“Well, well, well what a wonderful blob you have done, Sandra”!!!! ha, ha, ha.

“Now what are you going to do?” “HUH?” "You cannot put this as the cover of your story" humm.

Then I decided to look for a black paper, aaaand shoot!!!, what can I do now? I do not have one, so there it was, thought to myself:

“AHHH the computer, my companion”!!! At that moment I started looking online and “tadaaaa” printed a black paper. “Magic ahhh!!!” (Wink)

Genius!!!! But that was 3 days ago. Last night after a long day of training for the new job, the inspiration came to me:

“YES, finally something is going to be done!!!” (“Lord have mercy with this child of yours”).

I am composed, now: breath in, breath out everything is going to be okay, (“Sandra calm down!!!!”)

Jesuschrist!!!! After all that commotion, I went back online to look for Auroras so I can start my drawing on that black page I printed, (Remember the one I printed 3 days ago? Yeah, that one.)

So, I started painting with coloring pencils and a little gray paint. You can see the image above, that almost look like another blob of stars, planets and comets.

Now with all the research I have done, the blob paint done and to finish my story. This is what I have learn about the Auroras green lights:

“There are two different Auroras, they are not the same even though they look alike, they make a crackling noise, the colors of both are different, depending on the altitude the colors change”.

For me, the most important thing about these Green lights is that:

“They are wonderful living picture, painted by a bigger hand, full of awesomeness, they are a breathtaking green light that can be seen in different colors like a rainbow, almost all year long on the North and the South Poles”.

Writer: Sandra Rivera ([email protected])

Painting by: Sandra Rivera

Editing by: Jaye Knox (Mother-by-law)