What can cause differences in the auroras appearance?

Why the different colors? The color of the aurora depends on which gas is being excited by the electrons and on how much energy is being exchanged. Oxygen emits either a greenish-yellow light (the most familiar color of the aurora) or a red light; nitrogen generally gives off a blue light.

What causes the aurora effect?

The lights we see in the night sky are in actual fact caused by activity on the surface of the Sun. Solar storms on our star’s surface give out huge clouds of electrically charged particles. The aurora’s characteristic wavy patterns and ‘curtains’ of light are caused by the lines of force in the Earth’s magnetic field.

What is a STEVE aurora?

Donovan went onto Facebook, to the Alberta Aurora Chasers group, to ask if anyone had observed or taken images of “Steve” the night before. With these new scientific findings, “Steve” was re-designated STEVE by researchers, as a “backcronym” for Sudden Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement.

What causes differences in intensity of the aurora borealis?

“Relative intensity between different aurora colours depends on the composition of the atmosphere and the energy of the incoming particles,” says Carter. That night I watched the aurora from the boat heading towards Tromsø, the display was quiet and the pale grey-green bands twisted languidly in the icy air.

What causes these auroras and why are they at the North and South Pole?

The formation of the northern and southern lights—known as aurora borealis and aurora australis—begins with solar flares from the sun. When it hits the back side of Earth’s magnetic field, electrons are again drawn in toward the poles, creating the nighttime auroras.

What causes an aurora quizlet?

Auroras are caused by the interactions of the particles ejected from the Sun and the earth’s magnetosphere. constant stream of particles flowing from the Sun is known as the solar wind.

What causes STEVE?

Nobody knows what causes STEVE, but scientists agree it’s no mere aurora. Auroras appear when charged particles from the sun sail across space and crackle along Earth’s magnetic field lines; STEVE, meanwhile, is a river of hot, turbulent gas that shows up independently of that solar weather.

What causes an aurora vortex?

Auroras are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by solar wind. These disturbances alter the trajectories of charged particles in the magnetospheric plasma. These particles, mainly electrons and protons, precipitate into the upper atmosphere (thermosphere/exosphere).

What causes white aurora borealis?

The sun radiates all visible colors, which is why sunlight appears white. The spectrum of visible light associated with the aurora is much more restricted. Atomic oxygen is responsible for the two main colors of green (wavelength of 557.7 nm) and red (630.0 nm). Nitrogen causes blue and deep red hues.

Are there different types of auroras?

Researchers these days recognise that there are really only two main forms of aurora: the arc (discrete), and the patchy, pulsating aurora (diffuse). These are created by fundamentally different physical processes.

Is Steve an aurora or not?

Steve, therefore, is not an aurora at all, but something entirely different: a mysterious, largely unexplained phenomenon that the researchers have dubbed a “sky glow.” “Our main conclusion is that STEVE is not an aurora,” lead study author Bea Gallardo-Lacourt, a space physicist at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, said in a statement.

What causes the aurora borealis?

What causes the aurora? The “northern lights” are caused by collisions between fast-moving particles (electrons) from space and the oxygen and nitrogen gas in our atmosphere. These electrons originate in the magnetosphere, the region of space controlled by Earth’s magnetic field.

What determines the shape of the Aurora?

The shape of the aurora depends on where in the magnetosphere the electrons came from and on what caused them to precipitate into the atmosphere. Dramatically different auroral shapes can be seen in a single night. Where can I see the aurora?

What color does oxygen give off in the Aurora?

Oxygen emits either a greenish-yellow light (the most familiar color of the aurora) or a red light; nitrogen generally gives off a blue light. The oxygen and nitrogen molecules also emit ultraviolet light, which can only be detected by special cameras on satellites.