Light (4)

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Luke 2:8-14 ESV

Bundles of Energy

Scientist have possibly confirmed what they’d previously suspected about the energy source for the Aurora Borealis (aka the Northern Lights). All they need is one more geomagnetic storm and they’ll know for sure.

New data from NASA’s Themis mission, a quintet of satellites launched this winter, found the energy comes from a stream of charged particles from the sun flowing like a current through twisted bundles of magnetic fields connecting Earth’s upper atmosphere to the sun.

The energy is then abruptly released in the form of a shimmering display of lights, said principal investigator Vassilis Angelopoulos of the University of California at Los Angeles. (Source from CNN.com)

Like a 5.5 magnitude earthquake travelling four hundred miles a minute, those Aurora producing geomagnetic storms.

“Nature,” says Angelopoulous, “has been very kind to us.”  Because, you know, we don’t deserve such a shimmering display of beauty and power, but nature loved us anyway and sent us northern lights. For the beauty of the earth, nature, we thank thee.

Okay, then.

Photo copyright © 2006-2007, Andrew Stark. All rights reserved. Click for larger view.

Light (3)

[T]he sunrise shall visit us  from on high
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Luke 1:78-79 ESV