What is an aurora? - Michael Molina

Prevoditelj: Katarina Mikjel Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

Every second,

Svake sekunde

one million tons of matter is blasted from the Sun

milijun tona materije ispaljuje se sa Sunca

at the velocity of one million miles per hour,

brzinom većom od 1,5 milijuna kilometara na sat,

and it's on a collision course with Earth!

a na putu će se sudariti sa Zemljom!

But don't worry,

No ne brinite,

this isn't the opening of a new Michael Bay movie.

ovo nije uvodna špica novog filma Michaela Baya.

This is The Journey of the Polar Lights.

Ovo je putovanje polarne svjetlosti.

The northern and southern lights, also known as the aurora Borealis

Sjeverna i južna svjetlost, poznate i kao aurora borealis

and aurora Australis, respectively,

odnosno aurora australis,

occur when high energy particles from the Sun

nastaju kad se visokoenergijske čestice sa Sunca

collide with neutral atoms in our atmosphere.

sudare s neutralnim atomima u našoj atmosferi.

The energy emitted from this crash produces a spectacle of light

Energija emitirana pri tom sudaru proizvodi svjetlosni spektakl

that mankind has marveled at for centuries.

kojemu se čovječanstvo stoljećima divi

But the particles' journey isn't just as simple

No putovanje čestica nije naprosto

as leaving the Sun and arriving at Earth.

odlazak sa Sunca i dolazak na Zemlju.

Like any cross-country road trip, there's a big detour

Kao kod svakog dužeg putovanja, postoji obilaznica,

and nobody asks for directions.

a nitko ne pita za smjer.

Let's track this intergalactic voyage

To intergalaktičko putovanje pratit ćemo

by focusing on three main points of their journey:

posvećujući posebnu pažnju trima glavnim točkama:

leaving the Sun, making a pit stop in the Earth's magnetic fields,

odlasku sa Sunca, kratkom zaustavljanju kod Zemljinih elektromagnetskih polja

and arriving at the atmosphere above our heads.

i dolasku u atmosferu iznad nas.

The protons and electrons creating the northern lights

Protoni i elektroni koji stvaraju sjevernu svjetlost

depart from the Sun's corona.

potječu iz Sunčeve korone.

The corona is the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere

Korona je vanjski sloj Sunčeve atmosfere

and is one of the hottest regions.

i jedno od najvrućih područja.

Its intense heat causes the Sun's hydrogen and helium atoms to vibrate

Zbog njezine intenzivne vrućine Sunčevi atomi vodika i helija vibriraju

and shake off protons and electrons

i otpuštaju protone i elektrone,

as if they were stripping off layers on a hot, sunny day.

kao da se ljušte tijekom vrućeg, sunčanog dana.

Impatient and finally behind the wheel,

Nestrpljivi i napokon s uzdama u svojim rukama,

these free protons and electrons move too fast

ti se slobodni protoni i elektroni kreću prebrzo

to be contained by the Sun's gravity

da bi ih zadržala Sunčeva gravitacija

and group together as plasma, an electrically charged gas.

i grupiraju se u plazmu, naelektrizirani plin.

They travel away from the Sun as a constant gale of plasma,

Potom napuštaju Sunce u obliku stalnog vjetra plazme,

known as the solar wind.

poznatog kao solarni vjetar.

However, the Earth prevents the solar wind from traveling straight into the planet

Međutim, Zemlja sprječava izravan dolazak solarnog vjetra

by setting up a detour, the magnetosphere.

uspostavljanjem zaobilaznice – magnetosfere.

The magnetosphere is formed by the Earth's magnetic currents

Magnetosferu oblikuju Zemljine magnetske struje

and shields our planet from the solar winds

i ona štiti naš planet od solarnih vjetrova

by sending out the particles around the Earth.

šaljući čestice oko Zemlje.

Their opportunity to continue the journey down to the atmosphere

Prilika za nastavak njihova spuštanja do atmosfere

comes when the magnetosphere is overwhelmed by a new wave of travelers.

javlja se kad magnetosferu preplavi novi val putnika.

This event is coronal mass ejection,

Taj se događaj naziva koronalnim izbačajem mase

and it occurs when the Sun shoots out

i javlja se kad Sunce izbaci

a massive ball of plasma into the solar wind.

masivnu kuglu plazme u solarni vjetar.

When one of these coronal mass ejections collides with Earth,

Kad se neki od tih koronalnih izbačaja mase sudari sa Zemljom,

it overpowers the magnetosphere and creates a magnetic storm.

on nadjača magnetosferu i stvara magnetsku oluju.

The heavy storm stresses the magnetosphere until it suddenly snaps back,

Snažna oluja vrši pritisak na magnetosferu dok se ona iznenada ne vrati unatrag

like and overstretched elastic band,

kao prenapeta elastična traka,

flinging some of the detoured particles towards Earth.

bacajući prema Zemlji neke od čestica koje su je zaobišle.

The retracting band of the magnetic field drags them down to the aurora ovals,

Traka magnetskog polja u svojem ih povlačenju vuče dolje prema auroralnim ovalima,

which are the locations of the northern and southern lights.

tj. položajima sjeverne i južne polarne svjetlosti.

After traveling 93 million miles across the galaxy,

Nakon puta kroz galaktiku dugog 150 milijuna kilometara

the Sun's particles finally produce their dazzling light show

Sunčeve čestice napokon stvaraju blještavu svjetlosnu predstavu

with the help of some friends.

uz pomoć nekih prijatelja.

20 to 200 miles above the surface,

Između 32 i 320 km iznad površine

the electrons and protons meet up with oxygen and nitrogen atoms,

elektroni i protoni susreću se s atomima kisika i dušika

and they sure are happy to see each other.

i taj je susret jako srdačan.

The Sun's particles high five the atoms, giving their energy

Sunčeve čestice pozdravljaju atome, dajući svoju energiju

to the Earth's neutral oxygen and nitrogen atoms.

Zemljinim neutralnim atomima kisika i dušika.

When the atoms in the atmosphere are contacted by the particles,

Kad atomi u atmosferi dođu u doticaj s tim česticama,

they get excited and emit photons.

prelaze u pobuđeno stanje i emitiraju fotone.

Photons are small bursts of energy in the form of light.

Fotoni su mali izboji energije u obliku svjetlosti.

The colors that appear in the sky

Koje će se boje pojaviti na nebu

depend on the wavelength of the atom's photon.

ovisi o valnoj dužini atomovih fotona.

Excited oxygen atoms are responsible for the green and red colors,

Pobuđeni atomi kisika uzrokuju zelenu i crvenu boju,

whereas excited nitrogen atoms produce blue and deep red hues.

a pobuđeni atomi dušika stvaraju plave i tamnocrvene nijanse.

The collection of these interactions

Te interakcije zajedno

is what creates the northern and southern lights.

stvaraju sjevernu i južnu polarnu svjetlost.

The polar lights are best seen on clear nights

Polarna svjetlost najuočljivija je za vedrih noći

in regions close to magnetic north and south poles.

u područjima blizu sjevernog i južnog magnetskog pola.

Nighttime is ideal

Noćni su sati idealni

because the Aurora is much dimmer than sunlight

jer je polarna svjetlost znatno slabija od Sunčeve

and cannot be seen in daytime.

i ne može se vidjeti po danu.

Remember to look up at the sky and read up on the Sun's energy patterns,

Sjetite se pogledati u nebo i proučiti obrasce Sunčeve energije,

specifically sunspots and solar flares,

posebice Sunčeve pjege i baklje

as these will be good guides for predicting the auroras.

jer su one dobri pretkazatelji polarne svjetlosti.