Tuesday, June 7, 2011

.::: Beautiful Natural Phenomena Atau Fenomena Alam Indah :::.

natural fire
Mother Nature can be cruel at times but there are times when it wows us with its beauties. We are all part of the nature’s beauties as we are all a part of the nature. It may seem almost impossible to some of you that there are things in nature that can take our breath away due to all those technological advancements that may seem much more attractive. Here are five amazing natural phenomena.


1. Aurora Borealis

Northern Lights aka Aurora Borealis, also referred to as “Dance of the Spirits”, is a natural phenomenon which is caused by the collision of charged particles directed by the Earth’s magnetic field. It is one of the most beautiful natural phenomena in the world. Auroras can be observed at night in the polar regions. These incredible polar lights can be observed between 60 and 72 degrees north and south latitudes, within the Arctic and Antarctic polar circles. This natural phenomena was named after Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas. This light can be seen in green and red colors it truly is a spectacle.

An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae) is a natural light display in the sky, particularly in the polar regions, caused by the collision of charged particles directed by the Earth’s magnetic field. An aurora is usually observed at night and typically occurs in the ionosphere. It is also referred to as a polar aurora or, collectively, as polar lights. These phenomena are commonly visible between 60 and 72 degrees north and south latitudes, which place them in a ring just within the Arctic and Antarctic polar circles. Auroras do occur deeper inside the polar regions, but these are infrequent and often invisible to the naked eye.




2. Red Tide

Red tide is also known by the name algal bloom in which water algae accumulate rapidly in the water column and the result is discoloration of the water surface. Colors go from purple to almost pink, normally being red or green. It usually occurs in the coastal areas. However, not all algal blooms are dense enough to cause water discoloration but when they are it is a pretty amazing sight.

An algal bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in an aquatic system. Algal blooms may occur in freshwater as well as marine environments. Typically, only one or a small number of phytoplankton species are involved, and some blooms may be recognized by discoloration of the water resulting from the high density of pigmented cells. Although there is no officially recognized threshold level, algae can be considered to be blooming at concentrations of hundreds to thousands of cells per milliliter, depending on the severity. Algal bloom concentrations may reach millions of cells per milliliter. Algal blooms are often green, but they can also be other colors such as yellow-brown or red, depending on the species of algae.





3. Mammatus Clouds

Mammatus clouds are a cellular pattern of pouches hanging underneath the base of a cloud. It is also known as mammatocumulus or the breast cloud due to its shape. They are associated with severe thunderstorms or volcanic ash clouds. Such clouds are an indicator of a forthcoming strong storm or a thunderstorm. They may look beautiful but are in no way harmless.

Mammatus are most often associated with the anvil cloud and also severe thunderstorms. They often extend from the base of a cumulonimbus, but may also be found under altocumulus, altostratus, stratocumulus, and cirrus clouds, as well as volcanic ash clouds. In the United States, sky gazers may be most familiar with the very distinct and more common cumulonimbus mammatus. When occurring in cumulonimbus, mammatus are often indicative of a particularly strong storm or maybe even a tornadic storm. Due to the intensely sheared environment in which mammatus form, aviators are strongly cautioned to avoid cumulonimbus with mammatus.




4. Sailing Stones

Sailing or sliding rocks are a phenomenon hard to explain. Stones and rocks of even hundreds of pounds move along smooth valleys. They move without any human or animal help whatsoever. Rocks may travel parallel for a time, before one changes direction to the left, right, or even back the direction it came from. Some scientists have proposed that a strong combination of winds and icy surfaces is the solution to this mystery. But somehow that explanation doesn’t seem to drink water.

Sailing stones, sliding rocks, and moving rocks all refer to a geological phenomenon where rocks move in long tracks along a smooth valley floor without human or animal intervention. They have been recorded and studied in a number of places around Racetrack Playa, Death Valley, where the number and length of travel grooves are notable. The force behind their movement is not understood and is the subject of research.

The stones move only every two or three years and most tracks develop over three or four years. Stones with rough bottoms leave straight striated tracks while those with smooth bottoms wander. Stones sometimes turn over, exposing another edge to the ground and leaving a different track in the stone’s wake.

Trails differ in both direction and length. Rocks that start next to each other may travel parallel for a time, before one abruptly changes direction to the left, right, or even back the direction it came from. Trail length also varies – two similarly sized and shaped rocks may travel uniformly, then one could move ahead or stop in its track.






5. Fire Whirls

A fire whirl, colloquially fire devil or fire tornado, is a rarely captured phenomenon in which a fire, under certain conditions (depending on air temperature and currents), acquires a vertical vorticity and forms a whirl, or a tornado-like vertically oriented rotating column of air. Fire whirls may be whirlwinds separated from the flames, either within the burn area or outside it, or a vortex of flame, itself.Also known as fire devil or fire tornado is a rare phenomenon in which fire acquires vertical vortices which can be as high as 30 to 200ft tall. They may be visually impressive but fire whirls can uproot trees up to 15 meters.