Exploring The Enchanting Colors Of The Aurora Borealis

THE AMAZING COLORS OF THE AURORA BORIALIS

My friend Paul sent me this amazing explanation of what the beautiful colors of the Northern Lights are caused by. I actually never even thought about the different colors of the Aurora Boralis being caused by different things happening in space. It's pretty amazing!

THE THREE STEPS OF THE AURORA BOREALIS

According to the Canadian Space Agency, this is what happens in three steps:

1. Solar Wind, which contains charged particles, interacts with Earth's magnetic field.

2. Then, the interaction with the particles, traps charged particles at the north and south poles.

3. The charged particles then react with gasses in the atmosphere, and produce excited and ionized gasses. The color of light emitted during the reaction depends on the type of gas involved.

Now we get into the colors.

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Photo by Edie Seelen

WHAT DO THE VARIOUS COLORS OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS INDICATE?

RED/PINK AURORA

Redish Pink Aurora's aren't seen very often. They are only visible under intense solar activity due to low concentrations of oxygen at high altitudes. So if you've seen a red/pink aurora, consider yourself lucky. :-) Red/Pink Aurora's are seen above 150 miles or 241.4 km.

GREEN AURORA

I feel like Green Auroras are seen quite often. Green light is emitted instead of red because of the higher concentration of oxygen. You can see green auroras up to 150 miles or 241.4 km.

PURPLE & BLUE AURORA'S

Ionized molecular nitrogen reacts because atomic oxygen is uncommon at low altitudes. Similar to red auroras, blue and purple auroras are associated with intense solar activity. Purple auroras are seen above 60 miles or 96.6 Km, while Blue auroras are seen up to 60 miles or 96.6 km.