The vastness of the open prairie affords us wonderful opportunities for stargazing, and on occasion, amazing views of the aurora borealis. The photos below were taken just north of Regina in February.
Also known as the northern lights, when a large enough solar flare hits the earth’s upper atmosphere, the night sky comes alive with beautiful dancing green, and sometimes red, lights.
Charged particles from the solar flare ionize nitrogen and oxygen atoms in the upper atmosphere. These excited atoms then release a photon in order to return to their ground state. These photons are responsible for the brilliant shining lights in the sky.
These spectacular events are generally only seen late at night. Rosthern is well situated for viewing auroras. If we are very lucky, a solar flare will take place a few days prior to the Mega, allowing everyone an opportunity to experience this amazing sight.
An excellent tool for those wishing to witness the aurora is Aurora Watch out of Edmonton which has a free email alerts system for auroras is available. Also be sure to check out this aurora borealis forecast page as well.