Bottom line: When charged particles from the sun strike atoms in Earth’s atmosphere, they cause electrons in the atoms to move to a higher-energy state.
When the electrons drop back to a lower energy state, they release a photon: light
. This process creates the beautiful aurora, or northern lights.
What are the northern lights in simple terms?
The northern lights (called
the aurora borealis
) and the southern lights (aurora australis) appear when tiny particles stream out from the Sun and hit Earth’s atmosphere. The particles give some of their energy to atoms and molecules of gases in the upper atmosphere. But the atoms and molecules cannot hold the energy.
What are northern lights explained to kids?
The northern lights (called the aurora borealis) and the southern lights (aurora australis) appear when tiny particles stream out from the Sun and hit Earth’s atmosphere. The particles
give some of their energy to atoms
and molecules of gases in the upper atmosphere.
What causes the northern lights simple explanation for kids?
The Northern Lights are actually caused by
electrons from solar winds
. They are attracted to the poles by the magnetic fields found there. They mix with gases in the atmosphere, causing the gases to glow. Solar flares can also cause the Northern Lights to appear.
How does the northern lights work?
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.
Do the northern lights happen every night?
No. Huge geomagnetic storms, the kind that can cause very intense displays of the Northern Lights,
don’t happen every night
, even during solar maximum. … It’s all about luck, and whenever you go on a Northern Lights hunt, you’re very likely to see some kind of display of the Northern Lights if the sky is clear.
Why does the northern lights occur?
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.
How often do the Northern Lights happen?
They are visible from
late August to early April anytime during dark hours
, which in places like Abisko or Tromsø can be nearly 24 hours a day in winter.
Where does the Northern Lights happen?
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.
Why are northern lights green?
The most common color seen in the Northern Lights is green. When
the solar wind hits millions of oxygen atoms in the Earth’s atmosphere at the same time
, it excites the oxygen atoms for a time and they decay back to their original state, when they emit the green hue we can see from the ground.
Why is the Northern Lights Special?
The aurora borealis – otherwise known as the northern lights – is
a vivid demonstration of the Earth’s magnetic field interacting with charged particles from the sun
. It’s also beautiful, and worth braving a cold night out when visiting the high northern (or southern) latitudes.
How old are the Northern Lights?
The earliest known account of northern lights appears to be from a Babylonian clay tablet from observations made by the official astronomers of King Nebuchadnezzar II,
568/567 BC
. Some people claim to hear noises associated with the northern lights, but documenting this phenomenon has been difficult.
What are the Northern Lights made of?
The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, shines above Bear Lake. The lights are the result of
solar particles colliding with gases
in Earth’s atmosphere.
Why do the Northern Lights happen at night?
What are the northern lights? At any given moment,
the sun is ejecting charged particles from its corona, or upper atmosphere
, creating what’s called the solar wind. When that wind slams into Earth’s ionosphere, or upper atmosphere, the aurora is born.
What month is best to see the Northern Lights?
To see the Northern Lights you need dark skies and from early-April until late-August, the Aurora may be blazing across the Arctic firmament but it is visible only to scientific equipment, as the skies are just too light for the human eye to see the show.
Can you see the Northern Lights with the naked eye?
Our naked eye can most easily see the green-yellow part of the spectrum where the sun emits most of its light. Green is the most common color observed but the Northern Lights
can also appear white-gray
. … Sometimes the Northern Lights are even present but not visible to the naked eye.
