Watch the Northern Lights Emerge on Your Coffee Cup
Erkki Makkonen, Erkki Makkonen
If seeing the Aurora Borealis is on your bucket list, maybe you should put it on your “cup” list instead. Now you can see the Northern Lights — a natural phenomenon in which charged solar particles collide with gases in Earth’s upper atmosphere and create a colorful light display that stretches across the sky — emerge every day with your morning coffee.
Online retailer ThinkGeek has just introduced an exclusive “heat-change” mug that, when filled with hot liquid, summons forth an image of the Aurora Borealis. Cool, right?
“Much as caffeine particles pass into our bloodstream and make us bounce off walls, so, too, the particles from solar winds pass through the Earth’s magnetosphere near the poles and share energy, causing a spectacular display in the upper atmosphere,” the website explains. “When these particles collide with oxygen in particular at lower altitudes (up to 150 miles), the photon released appears green or yellow, giving a similar light show as to the one captured on this mug when you fill it with warm liquid.”
The 12-ounce ceramic mug ($14.99) is not microwave- or dishwasher-safe — and, alas, it’s also not in stock at the moment, likely due to a surge in demand. The company anticipates it will be able to fill orders for its hot-selling, heat-changing Aurora Borealis mug starting in late June.
Caffeine-loving astronomy aficionados are understandably saddened by the delay.
“Out of stock, noooo,” writes one.
Soon, star watchers, soon.
Photo courtesy of iStock