The Planeterrella: an amazing polar light simulator
The University of Leicester is home to a Planeterrella - a small vacuum chamber within which we recreate auroral lights around magnetic spheres, and visualise cosmic phenomena.
About the Planeterrella
The Northern Lights are nature’s very own beautiful and dynamic light show, captivating all who gaze upon them. Since the beginning of time, people have tried to understand what causes the aurorae, resulting in myriad myths and legends. But it was only a hundred years ago, when Norwegian physicist Kristian Birkeland led a daring expedition to the top of an arctic mountain, that scientists realised that the aurorae are created by charged particles from the Sun travelling along the Earth’s magnetic field lines and exciting our atmosphere. Back in his laboratory in Oslo, Birkeland proved his hypothesis to the world with a famous experiment where he created auroral light around magnetic spheres inside a small vacuum chamber.
The complexity and natural beauty of the aurora has inspired many literary and artistic works and can easily form the basis of a cross-curriculum project spanning science, literacy, art and design technology.
The Northern Lights in your classroom
The Planeterrella is available for free demonstrations at your school.
Scientists from the University of Leicester will bring the Planeterrella to your school, and exhibit it together with a presentation on auroral lights, and Birkeland’s heroic expedition to the arctic. There will also be inspiring hand-held magnetic field demonstrations for the audience to handle.
The demonstration is suitable for audiences from Key Stage 2 to A-level, and can be tailored to last from between 30-60 minutes. We cover an area up to 1 hour's drive from the University of Leicester.
The planetterella is run from an ordinary 240 volt power supply. We need access to two standard 3-pin electrical sockets in the room. It would help if the room itself could be darkened so that the delicate emissions can be seen. The dimensions of the vacuum chamber are 50 cm in width and 60 cm in height.
For further information or to book the Planeterrella, please contact:
Dr Gabby Provan
Department of Physics and Astronomy
University of Leicester
University Road
Leicester
LE1 7RH
0116 252 2083
gp31@le.ac.uk