Word: spectacular
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...most dramatic manifestation of the solar flare was the two-night, spectacular display of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, that awed Paul Avellar and millions of others. Arriving high-energy electrons, deflected by the earth's magnetic field, spilled into the upper atmosphere near the north and south polar regions, which are unprotected by magnetic-field lines. Acting much as does the electrical current in a neon sign, the electrons banged into oxygen atoms, causing them to emit red and green light...
...darker central portions of sunspots, or umbras, have the strongest magnetic fields; the lighter exteriors, or penumbras, the weaker fields. Occasionally, the penumbras of two sunspots of opposite polarity merge as they move past each other, putting the oppositely charged umbras in contact. The results are spectacular. "Because the umbras have opposite polarities, they attract each other," says the Marshall Center's Moore. "The closer they are together, the stronger the pull. Then, as they push past each other, it's like an earthquake fault slipping. In this case the stored energy is released in a flare." In the sunspot...
...landed at night, and the long, graceful fuselage was swallowed by the dark. Albertazzie had small spotlights installed in the plane's horizontal stabilizers to illuminate the flag painted on its towering rudder. Wherever and whenever the President flies, the flag glows; the darker the night, the more spectacular the effect. That, in a way, is the history of the flag. It is not going to change, whatever the court...
...legendary pianist, who became a cold war hero by his spectacular victory at the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow in 1958, reappeared at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia last week, and it all seemed true. He had not retired. The previous eleven years melted away; indeed, the previous 31 years melted away. The lanky 6-ft. 4-in. frame had filled out a bit, and the wavy blond hair was now speckled with gray, but when Cliburn, 54, once again sailed into the Tchaikovsky Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat Minor, he demonstrated that neither age nor idleness...
...Giant spots, bright flares and huge eruptions are blemishing the face of the sun, delighting scientists and sparking spectacular auroral displays in the night skies. Astronomers are uncovering the secrets of the mysterious star that provides the earth with energy and sustains life itself. See SCIENCE...