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An article suggests the natural light show starts when disturbances on the sun pull on Earth's magnetic field, creating cosmic waves that launch electrons into the atmosphere to form the aurora. ....
What Causes The Northern Lights? Scientists Finally Know For Sure Austin Montelius / College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Iowa Nothing can ruin our joy in the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, those ribbons of blue, green and violet light that cascade from the sky. Not even knowing for sure what causes them. Physicists have long speculated about what gives rise to this very specific light phenomenon that occurs in the Earth s polar regions. Now they re certain. An article published in the journal Nature Communications this week suggests that the natural light show starts when disturbances on the sun pull on Earth s magnetic field. That creates cosmic undulations known as Alfvén waves that launch electrons at high speeds into Earth s atmosphere where they create the aurora. ....
An article suggests the natural light show starts when disturbances on the sun pull on Earth s magnetic field, creating cosmic waves that launch electrons into the atmosphere to form the aurora. ....
They provide the boost needed for aurora displays A surfer and the aurora borealis in Utakleiv, Norway (Image credit: OLIVIER MORIN/AFP via Getty Images) The aurora borealis found in the Northern Hemisphere and aurora australis in the Southern Hemisphere have captivated humankind since the dawn of civilization. These natural light shows provide the closest opportunity we can get to experiencing space weather conditions that are caused by activity on the sun s surface and as such, they follow the Auroras are caused when electrons emitted from the sun as part of the solar wind hurtle towards Earth and are funneled down Earth s magnetic field lines where they then collide with oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the ionosphere the upper atmosphere between 50 and 370 miles (80 and 600 kilometers). The absorption of energy by oxygen and nitrogen ions causes them to move to an excited high-energy state. To relax, the molecules re-radiate the energy as light, w ....