Auroras
(Northern and Southern Lights)
How Auroras are formed
Auroras are made by a solar flare. After two days the solar flare penetrates Earth's atmosphere activating photons floating around. The photons collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms creating the light in the sky.
Where it happens
^^^^Happens Inside yellow rings^^^^
The lights are contained by an oval like shape in the sky around the Northern and Southern Poles. You can see them best from midnight - 2am. They are most common in the months of March, April, September, October and November. These sighting happen every 11 years.
Colors of Auroras
The photons created by the solar flare collide with oxygen and nitrogen creating the auroras. When the photons collide with oxygen atoms it makes red and green light. When the photons collide with nitrogen atoms it makes blue and purple auroras. Green is the most common color of auroras and also the weakest. While red is the strongest.
The Great Aurora
March 12-13 1989 was the date when the biggest aurora display ever recorded. Because the 1989 aurora was so big it wiped out all the electricity in Quebec. It left left over 6 million people without power for 9 hours. It took out the power because the auroras have electricity running through them which overloaded the power grid.
5 Remarkable Facts About the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) - The Countdown #39