Earth science
Title: The Auroras: Northern and Southern Lights
Information: I'm curious about the Northern and Southern Lights. What makes them happen and where can I see them? The appearance of these phenomenal lights in the sky, or "auroras," is fascinating. "Northern lights," called "Aurora Borealis" occur in the Earth's northern hemisphere; "southern lights," known as "Aurora Australis," occur in the Earth's southern hemisphere. When visible, they can be sighted near the earth's polar regions. Here, along the Earth's magnetic field lines, gas atoms in the atmosphere emit light when they collide with other charged particles, usually electrons. For more information and pictures, check out "Paintings in the Sky," by Mish Denlinger at NASA's Science Education Gateway (SEGWAY.) http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/auroras/ You can find additional information on auroras by using the Google search engine athttp://www.google.com. Click on "Advanced Search." Where it says "with all the words" type in the box: aurora light. Where it says "with at least one of the words," type in: northern southern borealis australis. Here are some good sites to visit. Introducing the Aurora - Earth's Great Light Show The Athena Earth and Space Science for K-12 Website provides images taken by the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavor and by Jan Curtis in Alaska. This site provides answers to common questions about the auroras. http://inspire.ospi.wednet.edu:8001/curric/space/aurora/ Newton's Apple: Aurora Borealis Teacher's guide to learning about the Aurora Borealis includes interactive activities for students. http://www.ktca.org/newtons/10/aurora.html Nordly's Northern Lights A comprehensive site dedicated to northern lights research from the University of Oslo. Also provides sections on "Aurora Mythology" and "Aurora in the Arts." http://www.northern-lights.no/ Wikipedia: Polar Aurora Provides information on the origin, appearance, chemistry and geomagnetic factors of polar auroras. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_borealis Northern Lights: Aurora Borealis A Swedish Institute's of Space Science (IRF) "Popular Science Page" explains the Northern Lights. http://www.irf.se/norrsken/Norrsken_mainpage.html Thank you for using AskNSDL. For more information on auroras, you could visit your school library or local public library. The AskNSDL Staff
Category: Earth science