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From: ethan@utastro.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: northern lights
Message-ID: <244@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 6-May-84 19:21:29 EDT
Article-I.D.: utastro.244
Posted: Sun May  6 19:21:29 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 11-May-84 07:33:17 EDT
Organization: UTexas Astronomy Dept., Austin, Texas
Lines: 23

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Arghhhhh.......
I should never ever post articles when I'm tired.
My explanation of the aurora borealis had a very strange
ending.  The northern lights are not due to an interaction
between the charged particles and the magnetic field that has
trapped them.  It's due to the interaction between such particles
and the atoms in the upper atmosphere of the Earth.  Much of
the light comes out at the frequencies of the forbidden lines.

Many thanks to those who politely informed me of the error of
my ways.

                    

                     "Just another Cosmic Cowboy"
                         
                         Ethan Vishniac
                         {ut-sally,ut-ngp,kpno}!utastro!ethan
                         Department of Astronomy
                         University of Texas
                         Austin, Texas 78712