CNN News: 拉普蘭上演炫目極光秀

The region known as Lapland includes a part of which of these nations? Greenland, Finland, Iceland or Scotland? Part of Russia, Norway, Sweden and Finland are located in Lapland.

以下哪個國家的部分地區(qū)位于拉普蘭?格陵蘭、芬蘭、冰島還是蘇格蘭?俄羅斯、挪威、瑞典和芬蘭的部分地區(qū)位于拉普蘭。

And it's in Lapland that an extraordinarily light show was recently visible, courtesy of mother nature. The Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights twisted, danced and glowed in hues of green. Though the phenomenon can be seen at any time of the year, late winter or early spring during the overnight hours is said to be the best time to see them here. Besides being really "purrdy" to look at, there is some science behind these wondrous waves.

近日，因大自然母親的恩賜，一場無與倫比的燈光秀在拉普蘭上演。北極光在綠色的色調(diào)中旋轉(zhuǎn)、舞動、閃耀。雖然這種現(xiàn)象在一年中任何時候都可以看到，但據(jù)說晚冬或初春的夜間時段是在這里觀賞北極光的最佳時間。除了看起來很炫外，這些奇妙的波浪背后還有一些科學(xué)原理。

JENNIFER GRAY: Described as one of Earth's greatest light shows, an aurora is one of the most fascinating and beautiful naturally-occurring phenomena. You might know it as the Northern Lights, but its technically called the Aurora Borealis in the Northern Hemisphere and the Aurora Australia or Southern Lights in the Southern Hemisphere. This phenomenon occurs above the magnetic poles in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

詹妮弗·格雷：極光被稱為地球上最偉大的燈光秀之一，是最迷人、最美麗的自然現(xiàn)象之一。你可能稱這是北極光，不過嚴(yán)格來說，在北半球被稱為北極光，在南半球被稱為南極光。這種現(xiàn)象發(fā)生在南北半球的磁極上空。

They form when gases, particles in the Earth's atmosphere collide with charged particles released from the sun. Electrons and protons from the sun are blown toward the Earth by the solar wind.

當(dāng)?shù)厍虼髿鈱又械臍怏w和粒子與太陽釋放的帶電粒子碰撞時，就會形成極光。來自太陽的電子和質(zhì)子被太陽風(fēng)吹向地球。

As these are carried towards Earth, most of them are deflected by Earth's magnetic field. However, the magnetic field is weaker at the poles, allowing some of the particles to funnel into the Earth's atmosphere. The vibrant colors produced are determined by the type of gases that are colliding. The result is a brilliant display of the common green and yellow, less common blue and violet, even rare reds painting the night sky in ribbons, arcs or shooting rays.

當(dāng)它們被帶向地球時，它們中的大多數(shù)會被地球的磁場所偏轉(zhuǎn)。然而，磁極處的磁場較弱，使得部分粒子集中在地球大氣層。所產(chǎn)生的鮮艷顏色由碰撞氣體的類型決定。結(jié)果是產(chǎn)生常見的綠色和黃色、不太常見的藍(lán)色和紫色，甚至是罕見的紅色，在夜空中描繪出彩帶、弧線或射線。

Oxygen produces green and red light while nitrogen gives off blue and purple. The best time of year to view the light show is during the winter months when the nights are longer, under a cloud-free sky away from light pollution.

氧氣產(chǎn)生綠色和紅色的光，而氮?dú)鈩t發(fā)出藍(lán)色和紫色的光。一年中觀賞極光的最佳時間是冬季，那時夜晚更長，天空無云，也沒有其他光污染。