It can be seen properly only in certain times of the year, and only in areas where there are no city lights to dim it. It's when charged particles from the Sun collide with gas atoms in Earth's atmosphere and then the planet's magnetic field makes green, red, purple streaks of light dance across the sky. 'Fake news,' commented others.Īurora borealis - named after Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn, and Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind - or 'Northern Lights,' is a natural phenomenon that occurs close to the North Pole. 'This is on my bucket list!' said so many comments.
I switch out of WhatsApp to Instagram and take solace in the fact that I got better attention for posting the same picture on social media. My brother responds to her: 'It's coz she ate all the lights that you cannot see in the picture.' My cousin sister responds with a 'hahahahahah.' 'Why are you looking fat in the picture?' my mother asks. The sky is a brilliant green, and I'm standing under it looking up, my arms outstretched like Shahrukh Khan. NPR reporter Joe Hernandez contributed to this article.I press send on a photo of myself under the famed Northern Lights on the WhatsApp family group.
Scan the skies - while northern is in the name, they can appear from all directions. Check the forecast for signs of clouds or precipitation, which could block your view. Pick a spot where there is little light pollution. You don't need any special equipment to see auroras. The excited electrons eventually calm down and release light, which is what we see as the aurora. When the electrons reach Earth's thin upper atmosphere, they collide with nitrogen and oxygen molecules, sending them into an excited state. If they were moving with the right speed relative to the wave, they would get picked up and accelerated. "In order to surf, you need to paddle up to the right speed for an ocean wave to pick you up and accelerate you, and we found that electrons were surfing. "Think about surfing," said Jim Schroeder, an assistant physics professor at Wheaton College who has led research on the process. Science What Causes The Northern Lights? Scientists Finally Know For Sure A CME projects plasma and pieces of the sun's magnetic field into the atmosphere. What happens during a geomagnetic storm?ĭuring the storm, a coronal hole (the spots that appear black on the sun) prompts high winds, which in turn, trigger coronal mass ejections, or CMEs. The phenomenon, known scientifically as the aurora borealis, typically occurs closer to the North Pole, near Alaska and Canada.īut the storm could push the aurora lights farther south Thursday and Friday, and if weather conditions permit, could be seen in regions of Pennsylvania, Iowa and Oregon. this week due to a strong geomagnetic storm, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
The Northern Lights may be visible in the mainland U.S. Army Alaska, soldiers from Alpha Company, 70th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, conduct unscheduled field maintenance under the Northern Lights on a squad vehicle in preparation for platoon external evaluations at Donnelly Training Area, near Fort Greely.
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