Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis

Aurora Borealis for the northern lights and aurora australis for the southern lights. They can be red, blue, green, even violet. They occur in the winter.

ADDED: Actually they occur at any time of year. They are not seasonal, but are much more likely to be visible in Winter simply because the skies are darker and for longer each day. I have been lucky enough to see them, while on holiday in Norway, and that in late August.

Yes, the auroras begin as sunspots, or solar flares. Charged particles stream out from the sun and collide with atoms of oxygen and nitrogen in the earth's ionosphere. The oxygen and nitrogen give out green, blue and red light, the same way a neon tube works.

The Northern Lights. Borealis is "north" and aurora is similar to "lights" so "northern lights".

There is such thing as Aurora Australis that occurs in the south.

They are the same. They simply occur in different hemispheres. The southern lights are less well known because there is less inhabited land around the south pole, where you would see the southern lights

Auroras occur near the poles because of the interaction between charged particles from the sun and Earth's magnetic field. The magnetic field channels these particles towards the poles, where they collide with gases in the atmosphere, producing the colorful light display known as the aurora.

Aurora Borealis . . . most common in a region centered on the North Pole, but can descend to relatively low
northern latitudes during intense activity.

Aurora Australis . . . most common in a region centered on the South Pole, but can ascend to relatively high
southern latitudes during intense activity.

some say they have heard a distinct crackling sound, I was skeptic till tonight when I witnessed an awsome display and really heard the sky pop and crackle. Not a whole array of sounds, but a few. This was far north, at the very top of alaska. On the North slope.

Yes, depending on the strength of the Aurora, it can also be seen from the southern parts of Australia, New Zealand, Africa, South America and the Falkland Islands (the Malvinas).

Auroras are important because they provide insights into Earth's magnetic field and interactions with the solar wind. They also contribute to the study of space weather and its effects on satellites, communication systems, and power grids on Earth. Additionally, they inspire wonder and appreciation of the natural world.

Yes, streams of protons and electrons from the sun interact with Earth's magnetic field to create the Aurora Borealis. When these charged particles collide with atoms in the Earth's atmosphere, they produce colorful light displays in the polar regions.

The further north you go the better chance you will have to see the aurora borealis.

The further south you go the better chance you'll have to see the auror australis.

That's because the auroras is created when charged particles (mostly from the sun) collide with our atmosphere and earths magnetic field (which repells ions) funnels the particles down to both poles.

Charged particles from the Sun collide with the Earth's polar magnetic field. In December, the Earth is tilted towards the Sun, so more particles can collide along the North Pole. The same happens in the Southern Hemisphere in the Summer. Also, Northern lights (and their Southern lights counterpart Aurora Australis can occur at any time, usually right after a good coronal mass ejection from the Sun. December in the Northern hemisphere is usually a good time for clear, long nights and personal introspection, we tend to look up more often therefore making that particular observation.

Back to the question: what we see as Northern lights is light being emitted from molecules in the upper atmosphere, mostly Nitrogen and Oxygen, with many others mixed in. The color we see depends on which gas or compound is doing the emitting. The cause of the light is high energy particles trapped in the Earth's magnetic field being pushed around by a large scale disturbance of that field, usually a CME. If you get the NASA channel on cable or satellite they sometimes show a really cool video about the bizarre chain of events that actually cause the lights. The whole answer is actually just as fascinating as the lights themselves (yep, I'm a real nerd). If you don't want to wait for the TV, a couple of links about the IMAGE and Polar satellites to get started are posted below.

No, the northern lights can occur throughout the year, but they are more commonly observed in the winter months due to longer periods of darkness. The best time to see the northern lights is typically during the fall and spring equinoxes when geomagnetic activity is more likely to produce vibrant displays.

The Auroras, also known as the Northern and Southern Lights, form near the Earth's poles when charged particles from the sun interact with the Earth's atmosphere. This interaction produces energy that creates colorful light displays in the sky, appearing predominantly in regions closer to the poles such as the Arctic and Antarctic.

While the aurora borealis can be challenging to see in the summer months when there are no dark nights in regions of continuous daylight, it is still possible at high latitudes close to the Arctic Circle. However, the best time to see the aurora is during the winter when nights are longer and darker.

The northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, occur in the Earth's atmosphere, primarily in the polar regions. They are caused by collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun entering the Earth's atmosphere and gases such as oxygen and nitrogen.

The northern lights - the Aurora Borealis - it is only visible in the sky from the Northern Hemisphere, the chance of visibility increasing with proximity to the north magnetic pole, it most often occurs from September to October and from March to April. I presume the questioner meant when did it last appear at a particular location. But this cannot be answered without knowing the location.

This research paper is about the northern lights by Bethany Hammon and Alexandria Johnson. The northern lights are colors/streams of light that appear in the in Northern parts of the earth. The Aurora Borealis, is caused when material thrown off the surface of the sun collides with the atmosphere of the Earth. The emission of light from atoms is excited by electrons accelerated along the planet's magnetic field lines Northern Lights can be viewed just about anywhere but they are more likely to be seen in Canada, Alaska, and Antarctica, they have also been seen has far as south of Mexico. To view them look to the closest pole. You can see them anytime of the year in some areas they may be visible most nights of the year and they occur at any time of the day, but we can't see them with the naked eye unless it's dark. Aurora displays appear in shades of red, yellow, green, blue, and violet and are usually brightest in the northern parts of the world. The skylights occur between 35 miles and 600 miles above the earth. There is many folk tales about northern lights, here is a few of them. In olden times people in Finland believed that up in the north there is a giant fox and when the fox moved its tail, it creates the Northern Lights. Based on what people in Finland believed they called the northern lights Revontulet which meant fox tails. Some North American Inuit's call the northern lights football players and say the spirits of the dead are playing football with a head of a walrus. There are even some story's that warn kids to stay away from the lights because it will take them away. The Point Barrow Eskimos were the only Eskimo group who considered the aurora an evil thing. In the past they carried knives to keep it away from them. Some people believed it was gods or goddesses appearing to mortal human beings. Another legend, calls them the flaming torches carried by departed souls guiding travelers to the afterlife. The Salteaus Indians of Canada and the Kwakiutl and Tlingit of Alaska saw the northern lights as the dancing of human spirits. The Eskimos who lived by the Yukon River believed that the aurora was the dancing of animal spirits, most of those of deer, seals, salmon and beluga. An Algonquin myth tells of when Nanahbozho, creator of the Earth, had finished his task of the creation, he traveled to the north, where he remained. He built large fires, of which the northern lights are the reflections, to remind his people that he still thinks of them.

Auroras can usually be observed in regions near the Earth's poles, such as the Arctic and Antarctic regions. They are most commonly seen in areas within the Auroral Oval, which encompasses parts of Canada, Alaska, Scandinavia, and Russia. The frequency and visibility of auroras depend on various factors like solar activity and atmospheric conditions.

The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, can be seen in Northern Scotland. This natural light display is caused by the interaction of solar particles with the Earth's atmosphere, producing vibrant colors and dancing patterns in the night sky. Loch Ness is a popular spot for viewing the Northern Lights in Scotland.

Unfortunately, auroras don't occur on a schedule. Aurora borealis are generally associated with coronal mass ejections from the Sun. They are normally visible in northern latitudes above about 40 degrees north, so Canada and the northern US are the best observing locations, plus northern Europe, Iceland, and the northern parts of Russia and Siberia.

You can often get a 1-2 day advance notice on spaceweather.com.

People do talk about them. You probably live in the northern hemisphere, so the Northern Lights are more relevant there. In the southern hemisphere, people would be talking about the Southern Lights, as that is what they might be able to see. Where they are, they would not be talking about the Northern Lights.

the northern lights

It is unclear who saw the northern lights first, as they have been observed for centuries by various indigenous peoples living in regions where the phenomenon occurs. The first recorded historical observation was by the Greek philosopher Aristotle in around 340 BC.