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Oct 11, 2024 · There, the particles interact with gases in our atmosphere resulting in beautiful displays of light in the sky. Oxygen gives off green and red light. Nitrogen glows blue and purple. These green bands of light in the winter sky above Alaska are an aurora borealis. This is the name for an aurora in the Northern Hemisphere. Credit: Sarah Histand.
An aurora [a] (pl. aurorae or auroras), [b] also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), [c] is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of brilliant lights that appear as curtains, rays, spirals, or dynamic flickers covering the ...
Jun 10, 2021 · The aurora borealis, or northern lights, is a spectacular natural light display. Researchers at the University of Iowa have now found that the most brilliant auroras are made by powerful ...
The aurora's characteristic wavy patterns and 'curtains' of light are caused by the lines of force in the Earth’s magnetic field. The lowest part of an aurora is typically around 80 miles above the Earth's surface. However, the top of a display may extend several thousand miles above the Earth.
Jul 23, 2024 · The northern lights are created when energized particles from the sun slam into Earth's upper atmosphere at speeds of up to 45 million mph (72 million kph), but our planet's magnetic field ...
- Stefanie Waldek
Jun 19, 2001 · The spectacular, "great" auroras in " What do they look like? " are powered by what is called the solar wind. The Sun also has an atmosphere and a magnetic field that extend into space. The Sun's atmosphere is made of hydrogen, which is itself made of subatomic particles: protons and electrons.
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May 10, 2024 · An aurora is one of nature’s most spectacular sights, a dazzling glow in the upper atmosphere driven by space weather. Over millennia, humans have observed and been inspired by beautiful ...
