Light show
Question: Why are the Northern and Southern Lights—the Earth’s
auroras—both made up of changing colours?
Answer: The auroras occur because charged particles from the Sun are carried
on the solar wind to the Earth.
These charged particles enter the Earth’s atmosphere and travel towards the
North and South Poles. While on their journey to the poles, the charged
particles interact with the different atoms that are present in our atmosphere,
making them glow.
When atoms such as oxygen and nitrogen are hit, electrons are knocked away
and this leaves them in an excited state. The excited…
