How Do Auroras Work? - An Exploration Into Northern Lights

Auroras are also known as Northern Lights, are a natural phenomenon that is usually seen in high latitude areas. 

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What are Auroras?

They are natural light displays that shimmer in the night sky. They occur almost every night near the Arctic Circles. They are extremely beautiful with blue, green, yellow, red and orange lights gently shifting and moving like softly blowing curtains.

How do Auroras Work?

Auroras are created by the help of the Sun. There are ions which continuously stream from the Sun and they continuously stream from the Sun’s surface and these are termed as the solar wind. The solar wind then approaches the Earth’s magnetosphere, which blocks the solar wind. The magnetosphere of a planet is essentially the region around the planet surrounded by its magnetic field.

Some of the ions from the solar wind get trapped in the ionosphere that are centered around the Earth’s geomagnetic poles. The ions from the solar wind then collide with the oxygen and nitrogen from the Earth’s atmosphere. This then results in a colorful set of glowing halos to be created around the poles. This is known to be an aurora. 

There is increased activity in the solar winds during the Equinox. These regular fluctuations are known to be magnetic storms. Magnetic storms are when there is a quick drop in the magnetic field strength of the Earth, and this lasts about 6 to 12 hours. They can create the most vibrant and intense display of the Northern Lights. Auroras have been visible far until the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. 

There are two poles of the Earth, North Pole and South Pole and auroras take place in both of them. They are known as Northern Lights and Southern Lights respectively.

Where is the best place to view the Northern Lights?

While the Southern Lights are also visible, since there is no habitat in Antarctica, it is best to go to places near the North Pole where the Northern Lights would be visible. The best place to view the Northern Lights would be in Fairbanks, Alaska. This is because this location is situated right under the auroral oval. 

The auroral oval is a magnetic belt around the magnetic poles of the Earth. The auroral band stretches across Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Canada and Alaska.

How are the colors of Auroras formed?

The colors of an Aurora depend upon the altitude and the kind of atoms involved. Hydrogen and Helium atoms interacting with the solar winds produce blue and purple colored auroras, while high levels of oxygen produce red glows in the Auroras. It is very interesting how the atoms interact with the atmosphere and the solar winds alongside the moonlight, to produce certain colors.

Do Auroras cause climate change?

The phenomenon that gives birth to the beautiful Auroras present in the North and South Pole may be the cause for mesospheric ozone layer depletion. According to an article by Innovation News Network,

 “These electrons cause immediate mesospheric ozone layer depletion in the localized area by more than 10%”.

 “These electrons” refers to the electrons trapped in the Earth’s magnetosphere, which is what gives birth to the creation of beautiful Auroras. Mesospheric ozone layer depletion is essentially when there is less ozone present in the mesosphere to absorb UV light. 

When we have less ozone to absorb UV light that gives leeway for strong particles of the UV light to enter the ozone layer and deplete it, causing an increase in global temperatures. However, this is a naturally occurring phenomenon, and so was the depletion of the ozone layer up until the industrial age. The creation of Auroras is not something we can control, although, what we can control is our actions to help reduce climate change.

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These include investing in renewable energy, incorporating recycling, introducing effective waste management techniques, using public transport, plant trees, practice composting of biodegradable waste to provide as natural fertilizer for plants and trees and support green organizations such as Greenpeace working towards reducing the diverse effects of climate change. 

Bottom Line

As individuals there is so much we can do to give back to our society, and taking care of the world when it needs us to, giving back to our Mother Nature is certainly a big step towards doing the same.

Written By - Vidita Sachdeva