451)
Southern Lights (New Zealand): A Commemorative $1 holographic Silver Coin
released by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand on 18.01.2017:
The Reserve Bank of New
Zealand (RBNZ) has issued a new silver coin which highlights the Southern
Hemisphere’s own natural and astounding light show.
The
Southern Lights:
The Southern Lights
as they are called form a spell-binding natural light show that produces
shimmering sheets of colourful light that appear to dance across the sky.
Most people are very
familiar with the Northern Lights (the “Aurora
Borealis”), which have fascinated and amazed those living in the
Northern Hemisphere, whereas, the natural phenomenon occurs around both the
Northern and Southern polar regions.
The term “Aurora” was coined by Galileo
Galilei in 1619, named after the Roman goddess of Dawn and the Greek
name for the North wind.
The Southern counterpart
of the Northern Lights is called the “Aurora
Australis” which has features almost identical to the “Aurora Borealis” and changes
simultaneously with changes in the Northern Auroral Zone. It is visible from
High Southern latitudes in Antarctica, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and
Australia.
Most Auroras – Northern
and Southern – occur in a band known as the “Auroral Zone” which is typically 3 degrees to 6 degrees wide
in Latitude and between 10 degrees to 20 degrees form the geo-magnetic poles at
all local times. A Region which displays an Aurora id called the “Aurora Oval”.
What
causes the Auroras?
The “Lights of Auroras”,
as they are called occur when gaseous particles/atoms in the Earth’s atmosphere
collide with charged particles released from the Sun’s atmosphere they cause
electrons in the atoms to move to a higher-energy state. When the electrons
drop back to a lower energy state, they release a photon – light. This process
creates the Northern & Southern lights.
Solar winds blow charged
particles called electrons and protons towards the Earth, where they are
largely deflected by the Earth’s magnetic field.
The reason these lights do not occur in the
Equatorial Regions is that the flows of energetic electrons and protons that
trigger auroras travel along the Earth’s magnetic field lines that connect the
distant geomagnetic tail region with the Earth’s surface field. These field
lines reach the Earth only in the polar caps areas. The magnetic field is
weaker at both the poles, allowing some particles to enter the Earth’s
atmosphere and collide with gas particles. Variations in colour are caused by
the collisions of varying gas particles.
The
Colours of the Auroras:
The Southern Lights can
range in colour from red, green, yellow, blue, pink, green, purple, ultraviolet
or infrared with the colours dependant on a number of factors. The type of
solar wind particle, the type of gas molecule and the electrical state at the
time of collision – all have an effect on the eventual colour of the Aurora.
Green auroras
are the most common and are produced by oxygen molecules located about 60 miles
above the earth. The rarer red auroras are produced by high-altitude oxygen, at
heights of up to 200 miles.
Nitrogen gases
are needed to produce blue or purple aurora lights. These collisions emit light
that we perceive as the dancing lights of the auroras and if one sees them
once, they a sight that one remembers for a lifetime.
Interestingly, an “Aurora
noise”, similar to a hissing or crackling sound begins approx. 70
metres (or 230 feet) above the Earth’s surface and is caused by charged
particles in an inversion layer of the atmosphere formed during a cold night.
The charged particles discharge when particles from the sun hit the inversion
layer creating the noise.
New
Zealand is home to the world’s largest dark-sky reserve, making it the perfect
location for star gazing and observing nature’s ultimate light show.
About
the Coin:
The Reverse of the New
Zealand $1 Silver coin recreates the “magic” of the Southern Lights
in both colour and its shimmering surface.
On the upper periphery are
inscribed “SOUTHERN LIGHTS” & “AURORA AUSTRALIS”
This coin has been minted
by using a holographic foiling technique which best recreates the mesmerising
shimmering of the Southern Lights. In the foreground of the image is the
picturesque Church of the Good Shepherd at Lake Tekapo, where the Aoraki
Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve is located.
The Obverse of the New
Zealand $1 Silver coin shows a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II which was
designed by Ian Rank-Broadley (IRB) which has been used on all New Zealand
circulation and several commemorative coins since 2000, (this portrait has
since been replaced by a portrait designed by Jody Clark in British coinage in
2016). On the left periphery is inscribed the name of the issuing country “NEW
ZEALAND” and on the right Periphery is mentioned “ELIZABETH II”.
The specifications of the coin are:
Denomination:
$1; Metal Composition: .999
Silver; Weight: 31.1 grams; Diameter: 40.0 mm; Coin Quality: Proof &
Holographic foil; Mintage Limit:
1,500 pieces.
Non-terrestrial
Auroras:
Both Jupiter and Saturn
have magnetic fields stronger than that of the Earth and auroras have been
observed on both the “gas planets” through the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), as
well as on Venus, Mars, Uranus and Neptune.
Jupiter’s moons, in
particular Io, are powerful sources of Auroras on Jupiter.
An Aurora seen on Jupiter.
On the far left there is a bright spot which connects magnetically to Io. The
spots at the bottom of the image lead to Ganymede and Europa
An Aurora high above the
Northern part of Saturn taken by a moving spacecraft
Links to Posts on Australia, New Zealand and countries and Overseas Territories of the South Pacific on this blog:
1) Bank of Papua New Guinea: 36th Anniversary Celebrations (1973-2008): A Commemorative Uncirulated Coin Set consisting of a 2 Kina Banknote & a 2 Kina Coin
2) Papua New Guinea: An uncirculated coin set brought out in 1995 commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Independence
3) Currency & Coinage of the Soloman Islands: Dollars and Cents
4) New Zealand: New Banknote "Seventh Series" issued under Project "Brighter Money" from 2015 onwards
5) Coinage of the French Polynesian Island of Caledonia (or Nouvelle Caledonie) the CFP Franc
6) French Institution for issuing uniform currency/coinage for French Overseas Territories in the Pacific and the French Southern Territories of Antarctica: The Institut d'emmission d'outre Mer (IEOM)
7) Currency & Coinage of Samoa: Tala and Sene
8) Currency of the South Pacific Island Country of Fiji
9) Coinage of New Zealand: A commemorative coin set issued in 1979
10) Currency and Coinage of Australia: Dollars and Cents
11) The Australian Emblem or the Coat of Arms
12) The story of the Australian Penny
13) The Legend of the Mutiny on the Bounty: A Commemorative Coin Set from the Pitcairn Islands depicting relics from the Bounty issued in 2009
14) An Australian $5 coin issued in 1996, commemorating Australia's greatest cricketing legend - Sir Donald Bradman
15) New Series/Generation of Australian Banknotes being introduced from 01.09.2016 onwards starting from $5 issues
16) Southern Lights: A $1 Silver holographic coin issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in January 2017
This is really an interesting post and thanks for sharing. To see Northern lights in fairbanks plan your trip now.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting the blog, James.
ReplyDelete