Aurora Colors

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.

Learn how the aurora, or northern lights, gets its colors from the atoms and molecules of the air that are struck by energetic particles from space. Explore the history, processes, and structures of this natural phenomenon with photos and diagrams. Auroras are vibrant light displays created when energetic particles from the Sun interact with Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere.

These events, also seen on other planets like Saturn and Jupiter, result in a range of colors depending on altitude and the atmospheric gases involved. Scientists study auroras using tools like rockets, balloons, and ground-based instruments, while public. What is the rarest aurora colour? Blue, purple and pink are some of the rarest aurora colours.

You only tend to see these colours in the northern lights when there's a particularly strong display. What causes the different patterns of the aurora? The aurora borealis often appears as a curtain of lights. What is an aurora, and why do they come in different shapes and colors? An aurora is one of nature's most spectacular sights, a dazzling glow in the upper atmosphere driven by space weather.

The different colors of the aurora are produced when different atmospheric atoms and molecules are excited to various energy levels. The most common auroral color is a pale green color at a wavelength of 557.7 nm. The colors of the northern and southern lights are spectacular.

Discover which elements are most responsible for the Aurora Borealis and its colors. Aurora appearing, disappearing, brightening and forming structures like curtains, swirls, picket fences and travelling waves are all visual representations of the invisible, ever-changing dynamics in Earth's magnetosphere as it interacts with the solar wind. As these videos show, aurora comes in all sorts of colours.

Learn how the colors of auroras depend on the types of gases in the Earth's atmosphere and the height of collisions. See examples of different colors and spectra of gases in streetlights, neon signs, and auroras.