Is It Just Us, Or Have There Been Fewer Displays of the Northern Lights in Recent Years?

We asked Mike Trimpi, a physics research engineer and an expert on the aurora borealis, to enlighten us.

We have been seeing fewer displays in recent years. says Trimpi, but that is about to change. Here's why:" Auroral displays operate on 11-year cycles, coinciding with cycles of sunspor activity. during a solar max period, sunpot numbers go way up, strengthening magnetic storms and pushing electrons out. lIK electrons evenntually become trapped by the earth's magnetic field, causing the colorful, pulsating, shimmering waves and shafts of light we call the aurora borealis. The oval expands south during these maximum periods. The displays become more frequent. We passed a minimum two years ago. We should be seeing more displays over the next two or three years as we head into the solar max, predicted to occur in 2002."

""Hanover," Trimpi sax's, "is in a great position for viewing the northern lights. Tt lies just south of the earth s au- rora! oval,' the zone of the highest observed auroral activity centered around the geomagnetic pole near Thulc. Greenland. Because of the asymmetric shape of the oval, the northern lights are more commonly seen from II .mover than from other places along the same latitude farther west, for instance, from Chicago." To view the aurora more frequently you'd have to road trip north Hudson Bay locals see northern lights one out of every three nights.