How Are Auroras Formed?

Auroras are lights that are only found at the North Pole and the South Pole. They light up the night skies with red, blue, and pink colors! These are known as “The Greatest Light Show on Earth!”.

Auroras happen because of “solar winds”. The Sun releases a bunch of highly charged particles called electrons in a process called coronal-mass ejection. Just like winds on Earth, these “solar winds” can turn into “solar storms”. At the peak of this storm, these electrons are bunched up together. When these electrons enter Earth’s atmosphere, the electrons move toward the North and South magnetic poles. As the get deeper in the atmosphere, the electrons crash into the other molecules that are in our atmosphere. Basically, when the crash into different types of molecules, it releases different colors!! This is how Auroras are formed.