LIVING HERE
The northern lights could make an appearance in Wisconsin.
This Thursday night, July 13, or early Friday, July 14, after a large cloud of plasma erupted into space earlier this week. The northern lights, or the aurora borealis, are an atmospheric phenomenon that’s regarded as the Holy Grail of sky watching. The northern lights are beautiful dancing waves of light that have captivated people for as long as time can remember. Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei coined the name “aurora borealis” in 1619, after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek god of the north wind, Boreas. The earliest suspected record of the northern lights is in a 30,000-year-old cave painting in France. Since that time, civilizations around the world have marveled at the celestial phenomenon and have their own tales and myths of what they could be. The Vikings thought the phenomenon was light reflecting off the armor of the Valkyrie, the supernatural maidens who brought warriors into the afterlife.
The bright colors of the northern lights are dictated by the chemical composition of Earth’s atmosphere. Every type of atom or molecule, whether it’s atomic hydrogen or a molecule like carbon dioxide, absorbs and radiates its own unique set of colors. When particles from the large cloud of plasma arrive to Earth they interact with our planet’s magnetic field, causing the northern lights to appear in the sky. When the northern lights are active, the best time to see them in Wisconsin is between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Make sure to get away from any city lights or other light pollution. Scan the skies, while northern is in the name, they can appear from all directions. On Wednesday, the storm will be highly visible low on the horizon from Seattle, Des Moines, Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, and Halifax. On Thursday, the storm will get stronger and can be seen overhead in Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Bay City, Michigan.
Place of the Week
There is a reason Pearce’s Farms Stand has been around for over 50 years and remains the best local farm stand around Walworth County. Bob and Mary Ann Pearce and their family should be commended for their warm and friendly camaraderie within the community along with the elegant display of splendid corn and fresh vegetables. We can’t imagine how they could get any better in the next fifty years. Pearce’s Farm Stand on the corner of Hwy 67 and County Rd ‘F’
