Here we learn what causes the different colors in the aurora borealis (northern lights) and the aurora australis (southern lights). Auroras Image credit: NASA/Bin Li Also known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), auroras are colorful, dynamic, and often visually delicate displays of an intricate dance of particles and magnetism between the Sun and Earth called space weather. Learn how aurora colors work.
See the chemistry and physics of the northern and southern lights and how the aurora works on other planets. Although the native people from New Zealand must have seen aurora on occasion, Captain Cook is considered the discoverer of the aurora australis; he saw it in 1773 on his voyage around the southern tip of South America. At mid-latitudes, people rarely see the northern lights.
The aurora, known as either the northern lights (aurora borealis or southern lights (aurora australis), captivates with its dazzling light near Earth's poles. This natural phenomenon, caused by. The colours of the Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis can vary and can appear green, white, red, pink, purple or blue.
How can I increase my chances of seeing northern lights in Iceland? COLOURS OF AURORA Red > 240 km Caused by excited oxygen atoms at high altitudes. During strong solar activity. Green: 100 to 240 km Green caused by excited oxygen atoms at lower altitudes, due to the higher concentration of oxygen.
Purple & Blue: under 100 km Purple & Blue is caused by excited nitrogen molecules. Only appears during intense solar events. Aurora australis visible from Oatlands, Tasmania on May 11 2024.
AAP Image/Ethan James The green light that dominates the aurora is emitted by oxygen atoms relaxing from a state called "¹S. Over millennia, humans have observed and been inspired by beautiful displays of light bands dancing across dark night skies. Today, we call these lights the aurora: the aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere, and the aurora australis in the south.
Nowadays, we understand auroras are caused by. Auroras, the beautiful and often eerie curtains of light in the night skies of the far north and south, have been enjoyed for millennia. In the Northern Hemisphere, they are popularly called Northern Lights, and officially known as "Aurora Borealis" (meaning "northern dawn"); in the Southern Hemisphere, they are known as "Aurora Australis" or the Southern Lights.
What do auroras look like?