LIGHT OF THE HEAVENS

| continue from page 1 versity of Alaska.

We visited the Arctic Circle the next day. The Arctic Circle in Alaska is located at 66°33’39.8”N Latitude and -153°41’6.3”W Longitude. It is the northernmost point at which the sun is visible on the winter solstice. The whole trip was approximately fourteen hours on the bus. No words can describe the ‘freezing-cold outside and the nervechilling inside experience’ of that day. There was a bathroom break in the middle of nowhere deep in the mountains. There was no heating, no running water, or toilet paper. I could understand the reason immediately after I dared to open my pants. My buttocks almost felt a sharp bite from the freezing cold. Like everyone else, I somehow managed to survive that time, but I could have lost my legs, or, even died later that day. My first pair of socks were made of cotton to keep my feet dry. Then I had a commercially available foot warmer that was supposed to be activated after I started walking on ice. Finally, I had a pair of woolen socks, and then I had my special shoes for this trip. I don’t know why and how the foot warmers got activated even when I was sitting inside the minivan. I was unaware of the amount of sweat my feet generated and it made my cotton socks wet. At the Arctic Circle, I started slipping after walking three-four steps. That sweat got frozen and my feet started getting cold. I was so fortunate that I could return to the minivan before that extreme cold temperature of minus forty-six degrees Celsius could initiate frostbite and hypothermia. I was also lucky to carry two extra pairs of socks. With a prolonged massage and repeatedly changing my socks, I finally got rid of the sweat. It was really a horrible experience that I will never forget.

All is well that ends well. It was the last night when nature was really kind to us. That night we booked another aurora-watching trip with Viator. We ventured deep into the woods for almost the whole night with a campfire arrangement, hot beverages, and food. As soon as we arrived at our destination, the tour guide yelled, “Come outside, just see her”.

And yesss... we saw her, the goddess Aurora of Norse Mythology, dancing around the dark sky in her own rhythm. Her chariot was roaming all over the dark sky. In her magnificent green dress with yellow and pink hints, she was looking celestially stunning. We were awestruck spectators of that heavenly sight. We, the three bong scientists, thanked the universe for giving us this rare opportunity to be alive that night, to be present there. We thanked the universe for giving us eyes to observe that wonder. I knew how the Aurora occurs. I knew that electrically charged particles from the sun interact with nitrogen, helium, and oxygen in the atmosphere when they enter the atmosphere. I read about how and why that natural ‘laser show’ happens. When I finally saw her, I simply wanted to be like an ignorant child, submitting all my knowledge to the goddess Aurora. I wanted her to teach me how this optical wonder happens by showing that incredibly designed experiment. Her beauty made me love physics even more.

The crystal-clear sky on our way back home revealed a few more beauties of the night sky. I saw Orion, the Ursa Major constellation, and a little bit of Aurora from the window seat of my Alaskan Airlines flight. Who says green is the color of envy? To me, green is, and always will be the color of the Aurora Borealis.