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NASA aims to expand the use of space forecasting successfully demonstrates the origin of northern lights Follow, press, live news Successfully
Researchers at the University of Iowa have proven the northern lights are caused by Alfven waves accelerating electrons toward Earth until they collide with the upper atmosphere.
Northern lights caused by accelerated electrons crashing into Earth Dan Avery For Dailymail.com © Provided by Daily Mail MailOnline logo The northern lights, or Aurora Borealis, have fascinated humanity for millennia but exactly how they're created has remained a bit of a mystery. Now scientists say they have definitive proof the spectacular cosmic shimmer is caused by powerful electromagnetic waves, called Alfven waves, that accelerate electrons toward Earth under certain conditions. It was in 1946 that Russian physicist Lev Landau first theorized electrons 'surfed' on th...