I have only seen the Aurora Borealis once - on a Northwest Airlines flight one night from Minneapolis or Detroit to Portland. While browsing over the Baltimore Sun on line this evening, I saw a time lapse video by Terje Sorgjerd titled The Mountain set to music. One look, and I was hooked on his work and that of the composer Ludovico Einaudi (1). I then saw The Aurora. An Aurora is luminous phenomenon of Earth’s upper atmosphere that occurs primarily in high latitudes of both hemispheres; auroras in the Northern Hemisphere
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| Aurora Borealis |
are called aurora borealis, and in the Southern Hemisphere, aurora australis. Auroras are caused by the interaction of energetic particles from outside the atmosphere with atoms of the upper atmosphere. Such interaction occurs in zones surrounding Earth’s magnetic poles. During periods of intense solar activity, auroras occasionally extend to the middle latitudes; for example, the aurora borealis has been seen as far south as 40° latitude in the United States. Auroras take many forms, including luminous curtains, arcs, bands, and patches. The uniform arc is the most stable form of aurora, sometimes persisting for hours without noticeable variation. However, in a great display other forms appear, commonly undergoing dramatic variation. The lower edges of the arcs and folds
are usually much more sharply defined than the upper parts. Greenish rays may cover most of the sky poleward of the magnetic zenith, ending in an arc that is usually folded and sometimes edged with a lower red border that may ripple like drapery. The display ends with a poleward retreat of the auroral forms, the rays gradually degenerating into diffuse areas of white light. Auroras receive their energy from charged particles traveling between the Sun and Earth along bundled, ropelike magnetic fields. The particles are driven by the solar wind, captured by the Earth's magnetic field, and conducted downward toward the magnetic poles. They collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms, knocking away electrons to leave ions in excited states. These ions emit radiation at various wavelengths, creating the characteristic red or greenish blue colors of the aurora. (2)
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(1) Ludovico Einaudi composer and pianist, his songs deeply evocative and emotional impact it has made today one of the artists most appreciated and popular on the European scene. (translated from the composer's Facebook page using Google translate. Artist Biography: Pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi was born in Turin, November 23, 1955. His mother, also a pianist, would play for him as a young child, planting the seeds for what would become a fruitful, illustrious career. Einaudi studied under Luciano Berio at the Conservatory of Milan, graduating with a diploma in composition. In 1982 his talents would win him a scholarship to the Tanglewood Music Festival. The experience opened Einaudi's ears to new ideas like minimalism, world music influences and aspects of pop music. He spent the next several years composing for the ballet, including Sul Filo d'Orfeo (1984), Time-Out (1988) and The Wild Man (1991). Einaudi turned a corner in 1996 with the release of his first collection of solo performances, entitled Le Onde. This record started Einaudi down the path towards becoming one of Europe's best selling pianist/composers. 1999's Eden Roc and 2001's I Giorni, both for BMG, captured the solo piano world's attention, both remaining best-sellers for years to come. While seemingly at the top of the composition world, Einaudi ventured into the world of film composition, a journey punctuated by his Best Film Score award in 2002 for his work on Luce Die Miei Occhi. Einaudi noted interviews during that period that he missed concretizing, and began performing again regularly. New works blossomed from this effort, including 2004's Una Mattina and 2006's Diario Mali. 2007 welcomed Einaudi's seventh studio album, titled Divenire, where he is accompanied by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez, Rovi
(2) Adapted from Encyclopedia Britannica on-line (click here).
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| Earth's magnetic field |
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(1) Ludovico Einaudi composer and pianist, his songs deeply evocative and emotional impact it has made today one of the artists most appreciated and popular on the European scene. (translated from the composer's Facebook page using Google translate. Artist Biography: Pianist and composer Ludovico Einaudi was born in Turin, November 23, 1955. His mother, also a pianist, would play for him as a young child, planting the seeds for what would become a fruitful, illustrious career. Einaudi studied under Luciano Berio at the Conservatory of Milan, graduating with a diploma in composition. In 1982 his talents would win him a scholarship to the Tanglewood Music Festival. The experience opened Einaudi's ears to new ideas like minimalism, world music influences and aspects of pop music. He spent the next several years composing for the ballet, including Sul Filo d'Orfeo (1984), Time-Out (1988) and The Wild Man (1991). Einaudi turned a corner in 1996 with the release of his first collection of solo performances, entitled Le Onde. This record started Einaudi down the path towards becoming one of Europe's best selling pianist/composers. 1999's Eden Roc and 2001's I Giorni, both for BMG, captured the solo piano world's attention, both remaining best-sellers for years to come. While seemingly at the top of the composition world, Einaudi ventured into the world of film composition, a journey punctuated by his Best Film Score award in 2002 for his work on Luce Die Miei Occhi. Einaudi noted interviews during that period that he missed concretizing, and began performing again regularly. New works blossomed from this effort, including 2004's Una Mattina and 2006's Diario Mali. 2007 welcomed Einaudi's seventh studio album, titled Divenire, where he is accompanied by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez, Rovi
(2) Adapted from Encyclopedia Britannica on-line (click here).
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