All About Space Astronomer Book - 2014 UK

[14] An auroral band cutting across Orion. [15] & [16] More shots of the Aurora Borealis from northern Norway.

near full, and of course there must be rain falling opposite to

the Moon.

Aurorae

One of the most beautiful sky phenomena is that of the aurorae or

polar lights: Aurora Borealis in the northern hemisphere, Aurora

Australis in the southern. Aurorae can be really magnificent,

covering the entire sky and glowing with various colours. People

who live in higher latitudes get the best auroral displays, while

those living in temperate zones rarely see them at their best. They

are caused by electrified particles swept out from the Sun and

crossing the 93-million-mile gap between the Sun and the Earth.

After a rather complex interaction, charged particles eventually

spiral down the magnetic field lines which channel towards the

Earth’s north and south magnetic poles. Here these particles

pass through our atmosphere and transfer energy to some of the

atmospheric atoms they meet. This causes the atmospheric atoms

to glow, resulting in the aurora. The atmosphere consists mainly of

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