the aurora borealis in Greely Ontario
Acrylic on masonite, 21 1/4 x 15 3/8 inches (2008)

As a form of free entertainment in our wintry northern hemisphere, the northern aurora (the borealis part means "northern") delights and dances with all manner of variety, duration and colour mixing from outer-world palettes. If you accept the Bering Strait ice bridge theory of the populating of North America, then our ancestors were probably thrilled that the lights followed them.

So, if you have aniconoclast bent and want to stump a snotty intellectual type, ask them "How long has the aurora borelis been around?" The real answer is not known, given that it is an interaction of particles in the solar wind with the earth's magnetosphere. Probably a really long time. As we know, our universe is rather long-winded...

For more interesting facts on the aurora, view the Internet Wikipedia entry, or challenge the experts at your local library.

My thanks to Mr. Bob Lavoie, esteemed astrophotgrapher, for his love of photography, astronomy and telescopic viewpoints during the night. Bob supplied me with images of the aurora.

Please do not reproduce the images in this display.
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