What is Aurora Borealis? Where can it be seen?

Best places to watch the lights in North America is the northwestern parts of Canada

Introduction to Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis:

These are bright dancing lights that exist as collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun which enter into the earth’s atmosphere. These lights can be seen aloft the poles (Magnetic) of the northern and southern hemispheres. They are known as ‘Aurora borealis’ in the north and the South, these are known as ‘Aurora Australis’.

Although, Auroral lights appear in many colours, pale green and pink are the most common. Shades of green, red, blue, yellow, and violet have also been reported. The lights appear in many forms from blocks or scattered, clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains, or shooting rays that light up the sky with a diabolical glow.

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Causes of Aurora Borealis:

The Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights happen to be the result of collisions between different gaseous particles of the earth’s atmosphere with electrically charged particles released from the sun and its atmosphere. Variations in the colour of the lights are because of the type of gas particles that are colliding. The most common existing colour, a pale yellowish-green, is commonly produced by oxygen molecules which are located about 60 miles above the earth. Rare, all-red auroral colour is produced by high-altitude oxygen, at heights of near 200 miles. Nitrogen gives blue or purplish-red auroral colour to the northern lights. The lights of the Aurora generally extend from 50 miles 400 miles aloft the earth’s surface.

Where can it be seen? 

Auroral Lights can be seen in the northern or southern hemisphere, in an irregularly shaped oval centred over each magnetic pole of the zone. The lights are known as ‘Aurora borealis’ in the northern and ‘Aurora Australis’ in the Southern Hemisphere. Scientists have researched and came to know that in most instances northern and southern auroras are mirror-like images that occur at the same time, also with similar shapes and colours.

The best places to watch the lights in North America is the northwestern parts of Canada, especially the Nunavut, Yukon Northwest Territories and Alaska, etc. Auroral displays can also be seen over the southern tip of Greenland and Iceland, the northern coast of Norway, and over the coastal waters north of Siberia. Southern auroras are not often seen since they are concentrated in a ring around Antarctica and the southern Indian Ocean.

It has been discovered that auroral activity happens to be cyclic, peaking roughly every 11 years of the period. Winter in the northern hemisphere is generally considered a good season to view these lights. Usually, the best time to watch for auroral displays is midnight.

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