Aurora is a geomagnetic and atmospheric optical phenomenon arising from the interaction of charged particles, primarily electrons and protons from the solar wind and magnetospheric plasma, with atoms and molecules in a planet’s upper atmosphere. Guided by magnetic field lines into high-latitude auroral ovals, these particles precipitate and undergo collisional excitation and ionization of atmospheric species such as oxygen and nitrogen. Subsequent radiative de-excitation produces characteristic emissions, notably green and red lines of atomic oxygen and molecular nitrogen bands, forming dynamic structures including arcs, curtains, and patches whose morphology and intensity are modulated by magnetospheric dynamics and space weather conditions.
Northern lights may be visible in parts of the U.S. Monday night following weekend solar storms.
Planetary Sciences
Jun 2, 2025
0
31
If you feel like you've seen more of the northern lights painting the night sky lately, you'd be right—and there's an explanation for the uptick.
Astronomy
May 28, 2025
0
176
On March 15, 2024, near the peak of the current solar cycle, the sun produced a solar flare and an accompanying coronal mass ejection (CME), a massive explosion of gas and magnetic energy that carries with it large amounts ...
Planetary Sciences
May 14, 2025
0
103
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has captured new details of the auroras on our solar system's largest planet. The dancing lights observed on Jupiter are hundreds of times brighter than those seen on Earth. With ...
Astronomy
May 12, 2025
0
71
In every scientific discovery in the movies, a scientist observes something unexpected, scratches the side of his or her forehead and says "hmmmmm." In just such a moment in real life, scientists from Canada observed unexpected ...
A strong solar storm headed to Earth could produce colorful aurora displays across more U.S. states than usual Tuesday night.
Planetary Sciences
Apr 15, 2025
0
74
An international team of astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have made new measurements of Uranus' interior rotation rate with a novel technique, achieving a level of accuracy 1,000 times greater than previous ...
Astronomy
Apr 7, 2025
0
160
Neptune lies in the frigid, dark, vast frontier of the outer edges of our solar system, about 3 billion miles away from the sun.
Astronomy
Mar 26, 2025
0
129
Three NASA-funded rockets are set to launch from Poker Flat Research Range in Fairbanks, Alaska, in an experiment that seeks to reveal how auroral substorms affect the behavior and composition of Earth's far upper atmosphere.
Space Exploration
Mar 22, 2025
0
74
High above Earth's poles, intense electrical currents called electrojets flow through the upper atmosphere when auroras glow in the sky. These auroral electrojets push about a million amps of electrical charge around the ...
Planetary Sciences
Feb 25, 2025
0
20
