What causes the Northern Lights???

Answer 1

"Northern lights originate from our sun. During large explosions and flares, huge quantities of solar particles are thrown out of the sun and into deep space. These plasma clouds travel through space with speeds varying from 300 to 1000 kilometers per second.

But even with such speeds (over a million kilometer per hour), it takes these plasma clouds two to three days to reach our planet. When they are closing in on Earth, they are captured by Earth's magnetic field (the magnetosphere) and guided towards Earth's two magnetic poles; the geomagnetic south pole and the geomagnetic north pole."

http://www.northern-lights.no/english/what/cause.shtml

Answer 2

Our sun is continually spewing positive ions (positively charged parts of atoms) into space due to the nuclear processes that keep it burning.

The flow of ions, which occurs in all directions, is called the Solar Wind and is actually a stream of protons, or hydrogen nuclei. When the particles that make up this wind near the Earth, they tend to be funneled toward the Earth’s poles by Earth’s magnetic field. When they reach our atmosphere, they are moving fast they knock electrons out of atoms in the upper atmosphere.

When those loose electrons are caught by another atom, light is emitted. The color of light depends on the type of gas, or atoms, involved. Each type of gas emits a characteristic color when it captures an electron.

Green is oxygen, red hydrogen, and blue nitrogen.

This light is what we see as the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis. They are called Northern Lights because the poles of the Earth’s magnetic field are near the north and south poles. Light seen around the south pole are called the Southern Lights or the Corona Borealis.

Sometimes, the flow of ions from the sun gets stronger, and the Northern Lights can reach closer to the equator then they might otherwise. Last June and November had spectacular displays because the sun was in one of its active phases. It was so intense that even people as far south as Texas and Tennessee saw the lights. This activity cycle is a long one (about 11 years), so keep you eyes on the sky this summer.

Answer 3

Northern lights originate from our sun. During large explosions and flares, huge quantities of solar particles are thrown out of the sun and into deep space. These plasma clouds travel through space with speeds varying from 300 to 1000 kilometers per second.

But even with such speeds (over a million kilometer per hour), it takes these plasma clouds two to three days to reach our planet. When they are closing in on Earth, they are captured by Earth's magnetic field (the magnetosphere) and guided towards Earth's two magnetic poles; the geomagnetic south pole and the geomagnetic north pole.

Northern lights occur as a result of solar particles colliding with the gases in earth's atmosphere

On their way down towards the geomagnetic poles, the solar particles are stopped by Earth's atmosphere, which acts as an effective shield against these deadly particles.

When the solar particles are stopped by the atmosphere, they collide with the atmospheric gases present, and the collision energy between the solar particle and the gas molecule is emitted as a photon - a light particle. And when you have many such collisions, you have an aurora - lights that may seem to move across the sky.

In order for an observer to actually see the aurora with the naked eye, about a 100 million photons are required.

Answer 4

The Sun emits charged particles that get sent in all directions, including towards Earth. There are more of those particles when there is a solar flare (and there is one these days, they said in the news).
Those charged particles are redirected and deflected by Earth's magnetic field (the one that spins the needle of a compas) and will bounce around and be funneled over the magnetic poles, where those charged and fast moving particles will hit the atoms of the upper atmosphere, ionizing them (this ionization will also create radio waves, hence Northern Lights are known to affect radio communications). Ionization of those upper atmosphere will make the atoms glow, just like gasses in neon tube glow, this is the same process.

Answer 5

The Earth has a magnetic field. it is weakest at the poles.

Solar winds from the sun enter through the magnetic field where it is weakest, and causes the Northern Lights

Answer 6

The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis is cause by particles from space get gravitated towards the Earth, and then burning upon impact with the atmosphere.

Answer 7

Okay, bear with me because my answer may be a little sketchy. Basically, the lights are due to a weakness in the earths magnetic field, which happens to be at the poles. I think what is seen is energy, particles, etcetera from the sun skimming the earth's atmosphere at the place of nakedness...

Answer 8

when there is solar flares that emanate from the sun. those flares travel towards earth and it is the reaction between those solar flares and the earths magnetic field that causes the Northern and Southern lights

Answer 9

Becasue the norhtern region oif the earths deep curviture it allows gas from the sun toi be seen that bubbles down there to be viewed best, the same is done in antarctica, email me for a more consciece answer if you like at [e-mail]

Answer 10

small solar paritcles being attracted by the earth's magentic field being accelerated along the field lines and collide with molecules in the upper athmosphere, causing a kind of glowing.