The particles from the solar wind must hit nitrogen atoms a lot harder in order to excite them. Once the nitrogen atoms begin to decay, they emit a purple coloured light. This is quite a rare colour to see, and usually only happens during a particularly active display. For the best chance of seeing the lights, you need to be under or close to one of the auroral ovals.
As we sail towards the Arctic Circle, your chance of seeing the Northern Lights improves, but there are a lot of factors to consider when hunting the lights. Read our Northern Lights FAQ and learn how you can increase your chances of catching a glimpse of this awe-inspiring light show in the sky. Get unique insight and knowledge about the Arctic sky and the greatest lightshow on Earth, the Aurora Borealis, on the popular Astronomy Voyage along the mesmerising Norwegian Coast.
This limited voyage is accompanied by special lecturers - experts on astronomy and expeditions to see the Northern Lights. Read more about our Astronomy Voyage. Covid Updated information. Hurtigruten Group Go to Hurtigruten Expeditions. Go to Norwegian Coastal Express. If ions strike oxygen atoms high in the atmosphere, the interaction produces a red glow. This is an unusual aurora—the most familiar display, a green-yellow hue, occurs as ions strike oxygen at lower altitudes. Reddish and bluish light that often appears in the lower fringes of auroras is produced by ions striking atoms of nitrogen.
Ions striking hydrogen and helium atoms can produce blue and purple auroras, although our eyes can rarely detect this part of the electromagnetic spectrum. To find out more about the mysterious light displays, scientists have launched satellites specially designed to study auroras. Fox Fire In Finland, the aurora borealis is called revontulet , which literally translates to fox fires.
According to one Finnish folk tale, the lights are caused by a magical fox sweeping his tail across the snow and sending sparks up into the sky. Dawn Wind The aurora borealis , or northern lights, was studied by ancient Roman and Greek astronomers. The phenomenon was named for the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora, and the Greek god of the north wind, Boreas.
Also called the southern lights. Also called the northern lights. Gas molecules are in constant, random motion. Also called a temperate zone. National Aeronautics and Space Administration the U. The bright bands of color around the North Pole caused by the solar wind and the Earth's magnetic field.
RAdio Detection And Ranging method of determining the presence and location of an object using radio waves. Also known as the aurora australis. The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Society. Dunn, Margery G. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service.
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Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service. Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. Upon their arrival, these particles can result in aurora activity.
Intense aurora displays are generated following massive explosions on the Sun known as 'coronal mass ejections'. These explosions release clouds of hot plasma containing billions of tons of material travelling at around two million miles per hour. When the clouds reach the Earth, they interact with the Earth's magnetic field to cause events called geomagnetic storms.
The Sun's activity fluctuates, with activity reaching a peak every 11 years. The last time solar activity peaked was in , and the cycle is now reaching its minimum. However, solar activity is predicted to rise again through to the mids. Regardless of the Sun's activity, aurorae can still occur at any time and observers in high latitudes should always look out for them.
Phillip Pullman, His Dark Materials. What is the aurora? Astronomy Photographer of the Year exhibition. See the world's greatest space photography at the National Maritime Museum.
Discover the incomparable beauty of the Northern Lights with this accessible guide for aspiring astronomers and seasoned night sky observers Buy Now. Aurorae Astronomy Photographer of the Year.
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