Discover how auroras work, what colors they can be, where to see them, and how to photograph them. Learn how aurora colors work. See the chemistry and physics of the northern and southern lights and how the aurora works on other planets.
The observations of the colors of the aurora, either in a broader sense by looking at the overall color balance, or by detailed spectroscopic methods, can teach us much about the physical processes that cause aurora and the effects that aurora has on the upper atmosphere. The Aurora Borealis is a spectacular spectacle, but what's even more fascinating than its vibrant colors is the science that explains them. Here we learn what causes the different colors in the aurora borealis (northern lights) and the aurora australis (southern lights).
One particular aurora color is the result of excited nitrogen being further excited by photons from the sun, or sunlight. This "sunlit aurora" typically occurs near sunrise or sunset and can be seen as a purplish color at the top of the auroral rays as seen in the figure below. Green, red and purple aurora over Mefjord in Norway.
(Getty Images/ Westend61) During intense outbursts of the northern lights, onlookers may see three or four colors at the same time. Learn why aurora colors glow green and red, how ionized particles collide with atmosphere layers, the physics of green aurora, and the science behind red aurora. The northern and southern lights, auroras visible from the poles, glow with a range of different colored lights.
Here's the reason for each of those colors.
