The Northern Lights and Other Beautiful Atmospheric Sights
The interaction of energetic charged particles from the Sun with Earth's upper atmosphere can produce beautiful auroras — the northern and southern lights. As a result of increasing solar activity, these were seen in May 2024 in Berkeley and even farther south, and they may become visible again within a year. Also, the interplay of light with the atmosphere can create beautiful rainbows, solar and lunar halos, the green flash, sun dogs, and other stunning effects. Come learn about these phenomena and what causes them!
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Speaker:
Alex Filippenko, a member of both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, is one of the world’s most highly cited astrophysicists. Filippenko was voted Best Professor at UC Berkeley a record nine times. In 2006, he was named the Case/Carnegie National Professor of the Year among doctoral institutions. Filippenko has produced five astronomy video courses with the Great Courses, co-authored an award-winning astronomy textbook, and appeared in more than 120 television documentaries.