Athropolis HOME   |   Maps   |   Arctic Links   |   Arctic Library
Click to go HOME
From our library of things you should know about the Arctic

Click for more information.

The Goddess of Dawn

Auroras (commonly referred to as the "Northern Lights" in the northern hemisphere) occur in the upper atmosphere at both poles. They are known as "aurora borealis" in the north, and "aurora australis" in the south.

A 17th Century scientist in France named Pierre Gassendi (Also: Gassend, 1592-1655) applied the name "aurora" to the Northern Lights, naming the fantastic light displays after Aurora - the Goddess of Dawn in Roman mythology.

Click for more information. The Goddess of Dawn represented the eternal alternation of day (light) and night (darkness). M. Gassendi likely thought this an appropriate name as the auroras, like Aurora's torch, brought light into the darkness of night.

Aurora rose from her bed every morning leaving her aged husband Titone shielding his eyes from the morning light which flowed from her torch. As she travelled across the sky in her horse drawn chariot, the clouds of night rolled away and the horizon lightened. A group of maidens scattered flowers, announcing the beginning of a bright new day.

MORE...
Click pictures for more information and credits.
Library: Northern Lights
Environment / Atmosphere, Arctic
Links: Northern Lights, Arctic
Northern Lights Slide Show
Arctic Maps & Weather Reports


Double-click any unlinked word DICTIONARY: Just "double-click" any unlinked word on this page for the definition from Merriam-Webster's Student Electronic Dictionary at Word Central.
Arctic Library ARCTIC LIBRARY & GLOSSARY: Check this section for an index of the rest of the things you really need to know about the Arctic.
All sorts of Arctic Maps ARCTIC MAPS & WEATHER REPORTS: Maps of the Northwest Passage, explorers' routes, iceberg sources, Nunavut, the Arctic by treeline, temperature...
Links to related sites. ARCTIC LINKS: Even more information! Links to sites related to the Arctic and "Iceberg: the Story of the Throps and the Squallhoots".
A Guide to Arctic Sunrise and Sunset GUIDE TO ARCTIC SUNRISE & SUNSET: How much sunlight or darkness is there in the Arctic on each day of the year?

Search for more on this topic...from Athropolis!
(1) Click the button for Web (below) to search the World Wide Web
(2) Click button for
WWW.ATHROPOLIS.COM to search this web site

 
Web WWW.ATHROPOLIS.COM
Icy Cold Jokes | Icy Games | E-mail | Athropolis HOME
Copyright © 2005 Athropolis Productions Limited. The content of web sites that this site has links
to is the property of their respective owners, and Athropolis is not responsible for their content.