Did you catch the Aurora Borialis (also known as Northern lights) the 11th and 12th of November? There was a beautiful red and green display painting the sky. They were visible all the way down to Florida and Texas!
Have you even wondered why the northern lights are what colors they are? Well, there is a science behind it! The most common color for the lights is green. The human eye is most sensitive to green colors, so that is why we see the green ones best. They turn green when charged particles collide with high concentration on oxygen molecules in Earth’s atmosphere at altitudes of around 60-190 miles.
It is the same process for all colors, but for red/pink auroras are usually associated with solar activity, and they happen at an altitude of 180-250 miles. Blue and purple auroras also tend to happen during times of solar activity, but are found at an altitude of 60 miles or less. Yellow and pink auroras, yet again, are associated with high solar activity, but they are a result of red auroras mixed with blue or green ones.
When there is higher solar activity, the earth’s atmosphere is riddled with more solar particles, making the chances of seeing vibrant and differently colored northern lights higher. The sun has an 11-year solar cycle, with times of peak activity, known as solar maxima.
The reason we see the northern lights in the US, when it is usually just seen in the poles, is because of solar flares. When the sun is at its solar maximum, it has solar eruptions and those make solar winds. Solar winds are ions, electrically charged particles going towards Earth.
