What are Auroras?

What are Auroras?

• An aurora is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic).
• Auroras are caused by the interaction of energetic particles (electrons and protons) of the solar wind with atoms of the upper atmosphere.
• Auroras display dynamic patterns of brilliant lights that appear as curtains, rays, spirals, or dynamic flickers covering the entire sky.
• They are also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis).

What is the Aurora Borealis?

• Often called the Northern Lights, it occurs in the northern hemisphere, predominantly in regions near the Arctic Circle.
• This includes countries like Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Canada, and Alaska.
• The northern lights result from charged particles from the sun, mainly electrons and protons, colliding with the Earth’s magnetosphere and interacting with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere.
• These collisions produce colourful displays of light, primarily in green, red and purple hues.
• The bright colors of the northern lights are dictated by the chemical composition of Earth's atmosphere. 

Q1: What is a Solar flare?

It is an intense burst of radiation coming from the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots. Flares are our solar system’s largest explosive events.

Source: Knowledge Nugget of the day: Northern lights