During the lecture held on November 3, Belakhovsky explained the nature of this complex geophysical phenomenon in simple terms. He also spoke about what the color of the aurora depends on and what countries you should visit to observe it. The lecture aroused great interest among the audience.
“The aurora borealis is the glow of the atmosphere resulting from the excitation of electrons and molecules of the atmosphere as a result of charged particles entering it. From a scientific point of view, it is correct to say “polar lights”, not "northern lights" since they are formed simultaneously in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Due to the fact that the charged particles enter both hemispheres almost simultaneously, we call them “polar lights”, Vladimir Belakhovsky noted.
The lecture was organized by the Atomic Energy Information Center on board the nuclear icebreaker Lenin. Such popular science lectures will now take place on board the icebreaker every Thursday.



