The Northern Lights, The Paricutin Volcano and The Harbor Of Rio De Janeiro

The northern lights

So how is it that this fantastic light show can exist? I'll tell you how.

The lights main source of energy is the solar wind which flows past the earth. We can see the aurora's light when electrons change their orbits in atoms high in the atmosphere.

So in english, that means we can see the northern lights when the electrons (these spin around the centre of the artom in a circle) change direction and spin in the opposite direction. This change of direction results in this spectacular light show.

Heres a picture of an atom.....

http://www.eskom.co.za/nuclear_energy/fuel/atom.jpg

You see those spheres circulating the centre? Those are the electrons. When they change direction is when we are able to see the northern lights.

So how does the northern lights change colour?

Altitude is what makes the colurs of the northern lights change. Blue/Violet occurs when atoms or ions crash into the atmosphere 60 miles from the ground. Bright green occurs at 150 miles and above 150 miles ruby red appears.

In northern cultres, different ledgends try to explain the northern lights. Some AMerican Inuit call it aqsarniit which mean football players. They believe that the spirits of the dead ae playing football with the head of a walrus.

Other ledgends warn children to not get too close to the lights as they may sweep down and snatch you away. The name “Aurora Borealis” is credited to Galileo Galilei and means “northern dawn.”

So how long has the northern lights been on planet earth? The northern lights have been witnessed since ancient times. The earliest witness of the northern lights seems to be from a Babylonian clay tablet from observations made by the official astronomers of King Nebuchadnezzar II, 568/567 BC.

There is an ongioing debate to wether the lights are accompanied by a noise. Some people are convinced that the lights do make a sound however trying to prove this in a scientific way has been proved very difficult.

You can see the orthern lights at any time of the year provided you're in the polar regions and its nighttiime. And hopefully the lights will appear because they are like the weather....they don't always turn up when you exxpect them to. The aurora lights capitol is Yellowknife in Canada.

The Paricutin Volcano

So when did the Paricutin Volcano begin to grow, errupt and die?

It was on Feb. 20, 1943, when a cinder cone started growing in a cornfiled near the village of Paricutin, Mexico. When the volcano errupted, it buried the town of San Juan Parangaricutiro and the village of Paricutin. The reason why this volcano is so important is because Paricutin gave volcanologists the chance to see the birth, growth and death of a volcano.

It wa sgreatly studied by them. Over the first year, the cone grew 1,100 feet, the cone grew for another 8 years but only added on 290 feet to its current height.

This volcano spat out 1 biollion tons of lava during its erruption! 100 square miles within the volcano was covered with ash.

This volcano died in 1952 and despite the ampunt of lava which theis volcano spat out, no-one in the vicinity was killed!

The erruption of 1943 was particularaly aggresive. Here's a picture:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Paricutin_30_613.jpg

This volcano is so important and unique because scientists were able to witness the volcanoes birth, growth and death hich has never happened before with a volcano.

Where the lava was covered the land, fertile farm lands now take its place. Volcanic material is very fertile and much aggriculture can be carried out on the new fertile soil.

The harbor of Rio de Janeiro

Rio has a tropical climate and is most famous for its harbor and its statue of Jesus. The harbor is so famous becaus of it looks like the mouth of the river. When portuguese explorers first discovered the bay, they named it Rio de janeiro - River of January - in honor of the month which they arrived.

The harbor in Rio can hold 1772 vessels and its annual intake of cargo is a whopping 13,638,ooo tons!

The sugar loaf mountain rises 1325 metres into the air and cuts into the bay which the harbor is built on. It overlooks the harbor and is a source of great beauty.

http://www.somejokes.com/images/Sugar_Loaf_Mountain,_Rio_De_Janeiro,_Brazil.jpg

The harbor of Rio De Janeiro is slowly getting smaller each year due to the building of houses and homes whoch takes up room on the harbor.
The harbor is home to many fine ships and many cruise ships stop en route to Rio in order for the passengers on board to appreciate the beauty of the harbor and the rest of the city.

A lot of tourism is active in Rio. Water sports such as scuba diving, water skiing, jet skiing and snorkeling are some of the top priorities for holiday makers. The tourism is a well developed industry and takes in a lot of revenue each year.

The waters surrounding the harbor are teeming with marine life. Some of these would be turtles, sea horses colourful coral reefs and exotic tropical fish.

It is said to be a beautiful harbor and is highly recommended as a holiday destination.