Zenith: The Science, History and Mythology of the Northern Lights

Magical experience of northern lights.
I’ve always been curious about the Northern Lights, and its beauty has never failed to amaze anyone till date. Who needs heaven when there are spellbindingly beautiful Northern Lights on Earth.The book is a treasure box for all the curious readers out there. In this wonderful book, the author discusses the hidden and lesser-known facts about the Northern Lights.  It’s a short and simple book that perfectly captures the aura of the lights. It also busts myths related to them. While providing a deep mythological insight into the story, the author also shares the scientific side. The pictures at the end are eye-catching, forcing everyone to add this place to their bucket list.

A very good read on auroras
No person who has witnessed the auroras will ever forget them. These majestic lights of both the North and Southern Polar regions have inspired awe and fear into human kind since the dawn of history. The are the stuff that has created legends, stories, myths, and religions. My first memory of these events was the unusually strong auroras of September 13, 1957. I did not know what they were but they made the normally dark Montana sky so brilliant with reds and greens that you could read by them. So, of what stuff are these?Liam Davenport attempts to answer many of the questions that people have of these events.In this rather short book (it is only 163 pages,) he reviews the history of record auroral observations from prehistoric times to the present day. Somewhere are 28,000 BC, a Cro-Magnum arrest drew on the walls of a cave near Dordogne, France, a rendition of an aurora. Then, Davenport jumps to some the earliest recordings of auroras including those in the Old Testament of the Bible. He includes Aristotle’s observations in 344 BC in Greece when a very strong aurora penetrated the sky of Greece and the Mediterranean. Davenport’s historical story carries on through the Middle Ages to the current time and includes some very famous names.One name really struck me: that of Kristian Olaf Bernhard Birkeland. I had never heard of him despite having an Undergraduate background in Physics and Electrical Engineering. I am remiss that my education missed this one. He was a famous Norwegian Physicist and Astronomer who’s accomplishments are honored to this day on the Norwegian 200 Krone banknote. Among his achievements was the first detailed magnetometer recordings of auroras and the recognitions that auroras were caused by Sunspots. When he first presented his analysis and data, the scientists at the time (early 1900’s) rejected his work. At the time, scientists did not believe the Sun had any electromagnetic influence on the Earth. How wrong they were!Davenport then reviews the science of auroras and the atmosphere in which they occur. The review is presented in readily understandable language and is at times too simple. For example, he claims the the magnetosphere cracked under the 2016 simultaneous event of a Sun coronal mass ejection and an onslaught of galactic gamma rays. The magnetosphere was not cracked in any reasonable understanding but it was compressed by 2/3’s of its diameter around the Earth.There are a lot facts that I did not know in this book: I did not know that auroras have a 27 day period that is also the period of rotation of the Sun. The reason for the period of the auroras is that is the time Sunspots take to rotate with the Sun. Another fact I did not know was that the Sun flips its magnetic polarity every 11 years. This is apparently the result of the Sunspots building on the Sun until they interact with its electromagnetic field causing it flip poles. At this time, the Sunspots die and the Sun enters its 11 year Sunspot minimum.I do not like the authors flippant tone that is exhibited throughout the book. For example, he says of the French scientist, Jean-Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan,”Jean-Jacques, who is rather plump with a crooked nose and long face (a bad combination if you ask me),”This was uncalled for and detracts from the book. There are other such comments.However, this book is well worth the read!

I loved this book! The writers personality shines through, and I laughed out loud numerous times. It moves at a good pace, and is educational as well as a truly fascinating read. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a passing interest for the northern lights, or anyone who has no interest at all! It is a fun, lighthearted read.

A really relaxed, laid back approach to a complex scientific phenomena. Which could easily have turned into something the layman is not able to access.

Fascinating read on a mysterious phenomenon. I enjoyed reading about the various different cultures and their take on the lights, well written and highly engaging book, would highly recommend!