Here we learn what causes the different colors in the aurora borealis (northern lights) and the aurora australis (southern lights). Learn how aurora colors work. See the chemistry and physics of the northern and southern lights and how the aurora works on other planets.
Auroras are vibrant light displays created when energetic particles from the Sun interact with Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere. These events, also seen on other planets like Saturn and Jupiter, result in a range of colors depending on altitude and the atmospheric gases involved. Scientists study auroras using tools like rockets, balloons, and ground-based instruments, while public.
Aurora is visible at mid-latitudes during the largest magnetic storms, but it is dominated by red colors. In ancient times when the aurora appeared overhead, people often associated the aurora with good or bad omens and sometimes considered it a manifestation of activities of heavenly spirits or gods. The Aurora Borealis is a spectacular spectacle, but what's even more fascinating than its vibrant colors is the science that explains them.
What is an aurora, and why do they come in different shapes and colors? An aurora is one of nature's most spectacular sights, a dazzling glow in the upper atmosphere driven by space weather. What is the rarest aurora colour? Blue, purple and pink are some of the rarest aurora colours. You only tend to see these colours in the northern lights when there's a particularly strong display.
What causes the different patterns of the aurora? The aurora borealis often appears as a curtain of lights. One particular aurora color is the result of excited nitrogen being further excited by photons from the sun, or sunlight. This "sunlit aurora" typically occurs near sunrise or sunset and can be seen as a purplish color at the top of the auroral rays as seen in the figure below.
The shifting face of Earth's light show is miraculous. A guide to the science of the aurora why it appears in different shapes and colours. Aurora appearing, disappearing, brightening and forming structures like curtains, swirls, picket fences and travelling waves are all visual representations of the invisible, ever-changing dynamics in Earth's magnetosphere as it interacts with the solar wind.
As these videos show, aurora comes in all sorts of colours.