Site Overlay

Aurora Borealis in Thunder Bay, Ontario July 7th 2022

My first time ever seeing this amazing display of colours and I was blown away by its beauty. Strangely enough I was about to fall asleep to get some rest before heading towards Manitoba. I looked out and saw the stars then came the aurora and I could not believe what I was seeing. Here is a bit of info on what the aurora actually is and how we are able to see such vivid colours in the night sky.

The Sun is releasing electrically charged particles called ions, those particles then move away from the Sun known as the solar wind. This particular solar wind then comes into contact with the Earth’s magnetic field, now the ions inside this solar wind will start moving around the Earth. Some of these ions coalesce with the Earth’s ionosphere causing these ions to glow.

The aurora or Northern Lights have different colours from the different ions for example Green comes from the agitation of oxygen. Red, Purple comes from the agitation and ionization of nitrogen atoms.

Green of course is most common to see when the solar flare is most powerful you get to see some reds, purples and pinks and let me tell you it is magnificent!

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *