On this day in 1952, some were less than enthused about space scientists picking apart one of planet Earth’s most spectacular sights, the local paper suggested.
Auroras like the Northern Lights have fascinated people for thousands of years. And for long as we’ve enjoyed them, we’ve tried to explain them. Were they the trail of the Roman goddess of the dawn? Light glinting off the armour of Norse valkyries? Or sparks caused by a fiery fox racing across the landscape?
In the 1950s, astronomers eventually solved the mystery — the sun sometimes shot-puts charged electrons our way, where they mingle with gases in our atmosphere and put on a spectacular light show. It’s a pretty stellar explanation. But not everyone was keen on having the magic of the Northern Lights explained away.
“How horribly dull that sounds, in contrast to the visual beauty of the colored lights that dance, and — as some stoutly maintain — rustle, against the backdrop of starlit sky,” read a lament published in an Edmonton paper in 1952.
Almost 70 years after this particular complaint was published, Edmontonians are still looking up for a glimpse of those coloured lights, often using the University of Alberta’s AuroraWatch as their guide. And whether you’re the type that loves knowing that the Northern Lights are caused by a “celestial hailstorm,” or you still like holding onto the mystery, now is a great time to see them. September to April is prime showtime in Alberta.
Written by Scott Lilwall, based on a clipping found on Vintage Edmonton, a look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist @revRecluse — follow @VintageEdmonton for daily ephemera via Twitter.