Aurora Watcher's Handbook

Neil Davis's decades-long involvement with the aurora extends beyond study and research. He has also been explaining this magnificent phenomenon to diverse audiences, sharing his extensive and continually growing knowledge with his graduate students and his grandchildren, with his fellow scientists through professional publications and with the general public through brief newspaper columns. His years of experience in communicating both the facts and the wonder of the northern lights shows clearly in this book, which amounts to a pocket education in the subject for any reader interested in auroras. Starting at a basic level, the handbook begins appropriately with matters of immediate concern to someone who hopes to see an auroral display. If people read no further than these first sections, they would gain at least a basic understanding of what causes the aurora, where and when it is most often seen, and how best to capture it on film. But if their interest is whetted, readers can go on to find a thorough and clear review of all aspects of auroral science, including the mysterious realm of auroral sound. In a concise and readable fashion, the handbook covers what is known about auroras, encompassing overviews of the northern Natives' legends and myths and the several theories geophysicists have produced to explain why auroras behave as they do. The Aurora Watcher's Handbook includes numerous illustrations, ranging from cartoons to color plates and scientific drawings.