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5 days ago · Neon lights are glass tubes containing neon or other gases. When an electric current is sent from one end to the other, the flowing electrons collide with the electrons in the neon, bumping them ...
Jun 10, 2021 · When the electrons reach Earth's thin upper atmosphere, they collide with nitrogen and oxygen molecules, sending them into an excited state. The excited electrons eventually calm down and release...
- Joe Hernandez
- What Are The Northern Lights?
- What Causes The Northern Lights?
- Why Are They called The Northern Lights?
- Why Is The Aurora More Frequent in Winter?
- Do The Northern Lights Have Any Effect on Earth?
- Are There Southern Lights?
- Do Other Planets Have Auroras?
- How to See The Aurora in The Night Sky
The northern lights, also called the aurora borealis, is the name given to the colorful, celestial light displays famous across the northern latitudes. They are most commonly seen in Northern Canada, Alaska, Northern Europe, and Russia.
The northern lights stem directly from the Sun's core, which is powered by intense nuclear activity. Periodically, this activity boils over and streams of electrically charged particles called plasma are released from the Sun and shot out into space. Some of them make their way to our planet. As they pummel the Earth's magnetic field, they get funn...
According to NASA, the aurora borealis was coined by Galileo Galilei in 1619 A.D. He named them after the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora. Other sources accredit the French philosopher and contemporary of Galileo, Pierre Gassendi,with coining the name, however. But the earliest recorded sighting of the aurora seems to have occurred in 2600 B.C.E....
The best time to see the aurora borealis is during the winter months, but in reality, the northern lights don't occur more often during any one season. Rather, the frequency and intensity of the lights is driven by the behavior of the Sun. “The seasonal variations that we see on Earth are just because that's where it's dark enough to see them,” Jod...
The northern lights aren't harmful to Earth, but the solar plasma that creates them can and does affect technological infrastructure. Because of this potential for harm, there’s an entire industry dedicated to tracking “space weather,” the electromagnetic conditions in space around the Earth, usually driven by the Sun, Ream says. “It can disrupt co...
Yes. The southern lights are called the "aurora australis," and they are created in the same way as northern lights. The land near the north pole is significantly more populated than the land nearest the south pole, so more people see the northern lights. In reality, the southern lights happen just as frequently, and they are just as spectacular.
The short answer is yes. University of Leicester space scientist Jonathan Nichols, tells Inverse:“Any planet with a large magnetic field and a significant atmosphere has auroras. In our solar system, that's Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.” Aurora-like activity has also been reported on Mars, Nichols says. This is surprising, because ou...
To see the aurora borealis, you need to be in the right place at the right time and have the correct viewing conditions. The best time to see the northern lights are on dark, clear nights in the winter months and close to a New Moon. Generally, from September to April are the best viewing months. To ensure you get the best from this natural light s...
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May 10, 2024 · The aurora borealis, or northern lights, are expected to be more active than they have in decades the evening of 10 May, according to an announcement by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric...
Mar 13, 2022 · The northern lights are a phenomenon that appear in the sky when charged particles coming from the sun slam into oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the atmosphere, ionizing those molecules and...
Feb 9, 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...
Jul 12, 2023 · Formally called the aurora borealis, the northern lights are an atmospheric phenomenon in which undulating swaths of green, purple, and red lights dance across the sky. They occur when waves of...
