Aurora: In Search of the Northern Lights Paperback – May 16, 2017

Physicist and adventurer Melanie Windridge recounts her travels to polar regions in search of an understanding of the aurora borealis. Her explanation of the physics behind the aurora is as clear as the arctic sky, understandable to anyone with a high school science education. My paperback edition did not have high-resolution color photos, which would have enhanced my reading experience. The author tells us that our incomplete knowledge of the aurora keeps one of earth’s most captivating phenomena a timeless mystery.

Fantastic Technical explanations, along with delightful travelogue.

I have been interested in the Northern Lights for years—actually stayed up all night in a northern window of a hotel in Scotland high above the Atlantic in the late spring trying to catch a glimpse. I was much younger and this book hadn’t been written yet. I needed more information! Ordinarily June is not the right month.I didn’t expect a wonderful tour guide from this book, but I truly appreciate all the details and personal accounts and history of the locations Dr. Windridge visited. The scientific explanations of the Aurora Borealis, eclipses, solar and geomagnetic storms were fascinating and fairly easy to understand. I am not a scientist. I read this book in one evening—the night I bought it!

Windridge spent two years traveling the northern hemisphere, researching the Aurora and the result is a spectacular mix of travelogue, historical context-setting, scientific expose and awe. Written for the lay reader, she provides testament to knowledge not interfering with our primal pre-rational connection to the world around us. If anything the book exposes 'wonder' as one of the strongest motivators in science. There are many scenes, culminating in the 2015 solar eclipse in Svalbard, that really bring the science and awe together and the reader is brought into the moment. Great stuff: strongly recommended.

The Aurora has always fascinated me. The Author combines her PhD in science and experiences from her travels to create a phenomenal fusion of hard science and fascinating Legends.Thoughtfully crafted to be understood by the layman while engaging the veteran scientist. Her passion for the aurora matches my deep love for the phenomena. Highly recommended!Enjoy