Questions about the northern lights?

Question

What are the northern lights?
When, where, and why can we see them?
Are they real or an illusion?
If they are real, how far away are they?

Answer 1

The Northern Lights are real and you can see them in northern lattitudes where there is very little light pollution. I know people who've seen them as far south as South Dakota and Idaho, but the closer you get to the pole the better the view.

The Northern Lights are created when Ionized particles are ejected by the sun in a spray called the solar wind. The solar wind bombards the earth and our magnetic field - due to it's shape - funnels these particles towards the poles of the planet.

The ionized particles carry a small charge and when this charged particle comes in contact with the gases in the upper atmosphere, it discharges it's energy and excites the gas causing a glow.

The different colors of the aurora are due to different gases in their excited states. Green aurora is due to Oxygen, blue is associated with Nitrogen, etc.

Answer 2

What are the northern lights?
- The interaction of the solar wind with earths upper atmosphere.

When can we see them?
- Usually only at night because the light of day washes out their pale glow.

Where can we see them?
- They can be seen at both the North and South polar regions.

Why can se see them?
- The solor wind (high energy particles) ionizes the atoms of the upper atmosphere causing the air to glow.

Are they real or an illusion?
- They are very real. The energy that is generated by them can induce massive amount electricity in power lines causing blackouts, interfere with radio transmissions and also affect airplane navigation systems when aircraft fly near Earths poles.

If they are real, how far away are they?
- Anywhere from 50 to 120 miles above the ground.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

Answer 3

They exist both in the north and in the south. They are NOT an illusion, they are a glow caused by solar energy striking the ionosphere. They are seen at the north and south polar regions because of the way the Earth's magnetic field guides the movement of the energy. They are rather close to the ground surface. Maybe 40 to 80 thousand feet.
I have actually flown level with the Aurora Borealis in a commercial airliner. It was an interesting and beautiful experience.
Check out the photographs at the referenced web site.

Answer 4

They are caused by charged particles from the sun entering Earth's magnetosphere (the "field" around the Earth that protects us from those charged particles).
The magnetosphere steers these particles towards the magnetic poles, where the particles can enter our atmosphere. Since they are electrically charged, they interact with the gases in the atmosphere and make those gases glow. Sort of like neon tube lights in the sky.

They are real, in the sense that they are not optical illusions. But they're like rainbows - you can see them but we can't touch them.

They are usually only seen in areas within about 30 degrees of the North and South Poles. But if the solar wind (that drives the particles) is particularly strong, or if a solar flare or coronal mass ejection strikes the Earth, they can be visible in the continental US.
They are formed at altitudes of about 80 km (about 50 miles).

Answer 5

b. debris in the image voltaic wind work together with earth's magnetic field and top environment close to the north pole you could not supply anybody 10 factors until eventually you verify who has the superb answer. No. i'm not asking which you supply me superb answer. it particularly is cheating for factors, some thing i don't do. saying you're giving 10 factors is bribing people. That violaites the community rules which you merely agreed to once you signed up with Yahoo answer.

Answer 6

Because of the way the magnetic shields work, there are 2 weak points in our earth's magnetic shield, and those are at the magnetic north and south poles (http://www.esa.int/images/earth_magnetic_400.jpeg). Photons gather here and create the northern lights. Yes, they are very real.

Answer 7

1) Electrically charged solar particles... solar wind.
2) At night, near the poles, and because that's where the magnetic field directs them.
3) They're as real as you or I
4) I'm pretty sure they're up in the stratosphere.