Book 7, Question 120
Why Do Northern Lights Paint the Night (Aurora)?
Sometimes the night sky near the poles shimmers with green and pink ribbons called the aurora. Charged particles from the Sun crash into gases in the air high above Earth. The crashes make those gases glow.
More fun facts
- Green is the most common aurora color. It comes from oxygen about 60 to 120 miles up.
- Red auroras come from oxygen higher than 120 miles.
- Nitrogen gas can glow blue in an aurora.
- People far from the Arctic often saw auroras as a faint red glow in the north, like the glow of dawn.
- Scientists use a 9-point scale called the Kp index to measure how stirred up Earth's magnetic field is. A Kp of 5 or more means a geomagnetic storm.
- During big eruptions from the Sun, auroras can grow brighter and be seen much farther from the poles.
Sources: NASA Science, NASA Science, NASA, NASA
Questions kids ask
What makes auroras green?
Oxygen glowing about 60 to 120 miles above the ground.
Can you see auroras far from the poles?
Sometimes. During big solar eruptions, auroras can be seen much farther south.