What is the aurora borealis?
What is the aurora borealis?
The northern lights, one of several astronomical phenomena called polar lights (aurora polaris), are shafts or curtains of colored light visible on occasion in the night sky. Aurora borealis – the Northern Lights. The origin of the aurora begins on the surface of the sun when solar activity ejects a cloud of gas.
Where is the aurora borealis?
The best places in the world are usually closer to the Arctic Circle, including Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. But don’t limit yourself: You can also spot the southern lights in the southern hemisphere. Still, the northern lights are the star of the show.
What causes the aurora borealis?
When the solar wind gets past the magnetic field and travels towards the Earth, it runs into the atmosphere. As the protons and electrons from the solar wind hit the particles in the Earth’s atmosphere, they release energy – and this is what causes the northern lights.
What does aurora borealis look like?
They can look like an orange or red glow on the horizon — like a sunrise or sunset. Sometimes they may be mistaken for fires in the distance, like the American Indians thought. They can look like curtains or ribbons and move and undulate during the night. Auroras can be green, red or blue.
How often does aurora borealis happen?
“Active periods are typically about 30 minutes long, and occur every two hours, if the activity is high. The aurora is a sporadic phenomenon, occurring randomly for short periods or perhaps not at all.”
Can you see Aurora with eyes?
The answer is simple: sunlight is incredibly bright, the aurora doesn’t stand a chance to outshine our nearest star. In the arctic region summer is dominated by the sun both day and night, the same goes for the antarctic region in winter. During that season it’s impossible to see the aurora.
What makes Aurora Borealis happen?
the aurora borealis is caused by particles from the sun blowing toward the earth with the solar wind. When these particles hit the earth’s magnetic field, the crash of atoms and molecules creates a beautiful sight. Oxygen atoms reflect green and red light.
What does Aurora Borealis do?
The Aurora Borealis, also called the Northern Lights, are curtains of light created when fast electrons from the solar wind slam into the rarefied gas of the upper atmosphere. The mechanism of action is similar to the way electrons in a television generate specks of light when they impact the phosphor-coated inside of the screen.
Is Aurora Borealis natural or man-made?
Aurora Borealis is a natural light show occurring when electrically charged particles from the sun collide with gas particles already present in the Earth’s atmosphere.
What is Aurora Borealis also known as?
An aurora, as it is commonly known, is also referred to as a polar light. The term “aurora borealis” indicates the aurora in the northern hemisphere, while the aurora seen in the southern hemisphere is known as the “aurora australis”.