Aurora Australis Color

Here we learn what causes the different colors in the aurora borealis (northern lights) and the aurora australis (southern lights). Learn how aurora colors work. See the chemistry and physics of the northern and southern lights and how the aurora works on other planets.

Auroras Image credit: NASA/Bin Li Also known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), auroras are colorful, dynamic, and often visually delicate displays of an intricate dance of particles and magnetism between the Sun and Earth called space weather. An aurora[a] (pl. aurorae or auroras) [b] is a natural light display in Earth 's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions around the Arctic and Antarctic.

The terms northern lights (aurora borealis) and southern lights (aurora australis) are used in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres respectively. [3][c] Auroras display dynamic patterns of radiant light that appear as curtains. If you saw the aurora, or any of the photos, you might be wondering what exactly was going on.

What makes the glow, and the different colours? Although the native people from New Zealand must have seen aurora on occasion, Captain Cook is considered the discoverer of the aurora australis; he saw it in 1773 on his voyage around the southern tip of South America. At mid-latitudes, people rarely see the northern lights.

Aurora Borealis vs. Aurora Australis Auroras are among nature's most captivating phenomena, illuminating the polar skies with mesmerizing displays of color. While the aurora borealis, or northern lights, is the more well-known type, its southern counterpart, the aurora australis, or southern lights, shares a similar origin and allure.

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. COLOURS OF AURORA Red > 240 km Caused by excited oxygen atoms at high altitudes. During strong solar activity.

Green: 100 to 240 km Green caused by excited oxygen atoms at lower altitudes, due to the higher concentration of oxygen. Purple & Blue: under 100 km Purple & Blue is caused by excited nitrogen molecules. Only appears during intense solar events.

Over millennia, humans have observed and been inspired by beautiful displays of light bands dancing across dark night skies. Today, we call these lights the aurora: the aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere, and the aurora australis in the south. Nowadays, we understand auroras are caused by.