What is an aurora? - Michael Molina

Summary

The video script unveils the mesmerizing journey of the polar lights, or auroras, which originate from the Sun's corona. High-energy particles escape the Sun's gravity as solar wind, only to be redirected by Earth's magnetosphere. During coronal mass ejections, these particles crash into Earth's magnetic field, creating magnetic storms that propel them towards the aurora ovals. Here, they interact with atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen, emitting photons that paint the sky in a vibrant display of colors. The auroras, best viewed on clear nights near the poles, are a testament to the celestial dance between our planet and its star.

Takeaways

• 🌞 The Sun emits one million tons of matter every second at a velocity of one million miles per hour, which can collide with Earth.
• 🌌 The northern and southern lights, or aurora Borealis and Australis, are caused by high-energy solar particles colliding with Earth's atmosphere.
• 🔍 The particles' journey involves leaving the Sun, being influenced by Earth's magnetic fields, and finally reaching our atmosphere.
• 🌡️ The Sun's corona, the outermost layer of its atmosphere, is extremely hot and causes hydrogen and helium atoms to release protons and electrons.
• 🚀 These protons and electrons form plasma and travel away from the Sun as the solar wind.
• 🌐 Earth's magnetosphere shields the planet from the solar wind by deflecting particles around the Earth.
• ⚫️ Coronal mass ejections are massive bursts of plasma from the Sun that can overwhelm the magnetosphere and cause magnetic storms.
• 💥 When a magnetic storm occurs, it can fling particles towards Earth, allowing them to reach the atmosphere and create auroras.
• 🌈 The interaction of solar particles with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the atmosphere results in the emission of photons, which produce the aurora's light.
• 🟢🔴 Excited oxygen atoms emit green and red light, while excited nitrogen atoms produce blue and deep red hues in the auroras.
• 🌌 The best time to see the auroras is on clear nights near the magnetic poles, and they are not visible during the day due to sunlight's intensity.

Q & A

What is the speed at which matter is blasted from the Sun every second?

Matter is blasted from the Sun at a velocity of one million miles per hour.

What are the northern and southern lights also known as?

The northern and southern lights are also known as the aurora Borealis and aurora Australis, respectively.

How do the auroras occur?

Auroras occur when high-energy particles from the Sun collide with neutral atoms in Earth's atmosphere, emitting energy in the form of light.

What is the Sun's corona and why is it significant in the creation of the auroras?

The corona is the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere and one of the hottest regions. It is significant because it is where protons and electrons, which create the auroras, depart from.

What is plasma and how is it related to the solar wind?

Plasma is an electrically charged gas formed when free protons and electrons group together. It travels away from the Sun as the solar wind.

What is the Earth's magnetosphere and how does it interact with the solar wind?

The magnetosphere is formed by Earth's magnetic currents and shields the planet from solar winds by deflecting the particles around the Earth.

What is a coronal mass ejection and how does it affect the magnetosphere?

A coronal mass ejection is an event where the Sun shoots out a massive ball of plasma into the solar wind. When it collides with Earth, it can overpower the magnetosphere and create a magnetic storm.

What happens when the magnetosphere is overwhelmed by a coronal mass ejection?

When the magnetosphere is overwhelmed, it can snap back like an overstretched elastic band, flinging some of the detoured particles towards Earth.

Where are the aurora ovals and what is their significance?

The aurora ovals are the locations of the northern and southern lights. They are where the Sun's particles are dragged down to after the magnetosphere retracts.

How do the Sun's particles create the auroras?

The Sun's particles, electrons, and protons meet with oxygen and nitrogen atoms 20 to 200 miles above the surface. They transfer energy to these atoms, which then emit photons, creating the auroras.

What determines the colors of the auroras?

The colors of the auroras depend on the wavelength of the photons emitted by the excited oxygen and nitrogen atoms. Oxygen atoms produce green and red colors, while nitrogen atoms produce blue and deep red hues.

When and where are the polar lights best seen?

The polar lights are best seen on clear nights in regions close to the magnetic north and south poles. Nighttime is ideal because the auroras are much dimmer than sunlight and cannot be seen in daytime.

How can one predict the occurrence of auroras?

One can predict the occurrence of auroras by observing the Sun's energy patterns, specifically sunspots and solar flares, as these are good indicators of potential auroral activity.

Outlines

00:00

🌌 Journey of the Polar Lights

This paragraph introduces the phenomenon of the northern and southern lights, known as aurora Borealis and aurora Australis. It explains that these lights occur when high-energy particles from the Sun collide with neutral atoms in Earth's atmosphere, creating a light spectacle admired for centuries. The script outlines the journey of these particles, starting from the Sun's corona, through the Earth's magnetosphere, and finally into the atmosphere where they interact with oxygen and nitrogen to produce the auroras. The paragraph also touches on the process of solar wind and coronal mass ejections, which are key to the particles' eventual display of light.

Keywords

💡Polar Lights

Polar Lights, also known as aurora Borealis and aurora Australis, are natural light displays in the Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions. They are the central theme of the video, illustrating the interaction between solar particles and Earth's atmosphere. The script describes their formation as a spectacle of light resulting from high-energy particles colliding with neutral atoms in our atmosphere.

💡High Energy Particles

High energy particles, as mentioned in the script, are atomic particles that possess significant kinetic energy, originating from the Sun. These particles are critical to the formation of the polar lights, as their collision with Earth's atmospheric atoms releases energy in the form of light.

💡Sun's Corona

The Sun's corona is the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere, characterized by extremely high temperatures. It is the source of the protons and electrons that create the northern lights. The script explains that the intense heat of the corona causes atoms to vibrate and release protons and electrons, contributing to the formation of plasma.

💡Plasma

Plasma is described in the script as an electrically charged gas resulting from the grouping of free protons and electrons. It is significant to the video's theme as it represents the solar wind, the medium through which high-energy particles travel from the Sun to Earth.

💡Solar Wind

Solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the Sun's upper atmosphere that the script refers to as a 'constant gale of plasma.' It plays a key role in the journey of the particles that eventually create the auroras by carrying them away from the Sun.

💡Magnetosphere

The magnetosphere, as explained in the script, is a region of space surrounding the Earth where the Earth's magnetic field is the dominant force. It acts as a shield, deflecting the solar wind and guiding the high-energy particles towards the Earth's poles, which is crucial for the occurrence of the polar lights.

💡Coronal Mass Ejection

A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a significant event in which the Sun expels a large amount of plasma into the solar wind. The script describes it as an event that can overwhelm the Earth's magnetosphere, leading to a magnetic storm and allowing particles to be flung towards Earth, contributing to the aurora.

💡Magnetic Storm

A magnetic storm, as mentioned in the script, is a disturbance in the Earth's magnetosphere caused by a CME. It is a critical event in the formation of the polar lights, as it allows particles to penetrate the magnetosphere and move towards the atmosphere where they can interact with atoms to produce light.

💡Aurora Ovals

Aurora ovals are the zones around the Earth's magnetic poles where auroras are most commonly seen. The script explains that the particles are dragged down to these ovals by the retracting magnetic field, which is where the interaction with atmospheric atoms takes place, leading to the aurora display.

💡Oxygen and Nitrogen Atoms

Oxygen and nitrogen atoms are the atmospheric particles that interact with the high-energy particles from the Sun. The script describes how these atoms, when excited by the solar particles, emit photons, which are responsible for the various colors of the auroras.

💡Photons

Photons are elementary particles that are the basic units of light. In the context of the script, they are the result of the energy transfer from solar particles to Earth's atmospheric atoms. The emission of photons is what creates the visible light of the auroras.

Highlights

One million tons of matter is blasted from the Sun every second at a velocity of one million miles per hour.

The northern and southern lights, or aurora Borealis and Australis, are created by high-energy particles from the Sun colliding with neutral atoms in Earth's atmosphere.

The particles' journey to Earth includes a significant detour influenced by Earth's magnetic fields.

The Sun's corona, the outermost layer of its atmosphere, is the source of the protons and electrons that create the auroras.

The intense heat of the corona causes hydrogen and helium atoms to emit protons and electrons, forming plasma.

Plasma from the Sun travels as the solar wind, an electrically charged gas.

Earth's magnetosphere shields the planet from the solar wind by redirecting particles around the Earth.

Coronal mass ejections are massive plasma balls from the Sun that can overwhelm the magnetosphere and create magnetic storms.

Magnetic storms can cause the magnetosphere to snap back, flinging particles towards Earth.

The aurora ovals are the regions where the northern and southern lights occur, influenced by the Earth's magnetic field.

The Sun's particles interact with oxygen and nitrogen atoms 20 to 200 miles above Earth's surface, leading to the emission of photons.

Excited oxygen atoms produce green and red colors in the auroras, while nitrogen atoms create blue and deep red hues.

The polar lights are best observed on clear nights near the magnetic poles and are not visible during the day.

Sunspot and solar flare activity can be used to predict the occurrence of auroras.

The auroras are a spectacle of light that mankind has marveled at for centuries.

The auroras are a result of the Sun's particles high-fiving Earth's neutral oxygen and nitrogen atoms, transferring energy.

Transcripts

Every second,

one million tons of matter is blasted from the Sun

at the velocity of one million miles per hour,

and it's on a collision course with Earth!

But don't worry,

this isn't the opening of a new Michael Bay movie.

This is The Journey of the Polar Lights.

The northern and southern lights, also known as the aurora Borealis

and aurora Australis, respectively,

occur when high energy particles from the Sun

collide with neutral atoms in our atmosphere.

The energy emitted from this crash produces a spectacle of light

that mankind has marveled at for centuries.

But the particles' journey isn't just as simple

as leaving the Sun and arriving at Earth.

Like any cross-country road trip, there's a big detour

and nobody asks for directions.

Let's track this intergalactic voyage

by focusing on three main points of their journey:

leaving the Sun, making a pit stop in the Earth's magnetic fields,

and arriving at the atmosphere above our heads.

The protons and electrons creating the northern lights

depart from the Sun's corona.

The corona is the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere

and is one of the hottest regions.

Its intense heat causes the Sun's hydrogen and helium atoms to vibrate

and shake off protons and electrons

as if they were stripping off layers on a hot, sunny day.

Impatient and finally behind the wheel,

these free protons and electrons move too fast

to be contained by the Sun's gravity

and group together as plasma, an electrically charged gas.

They travel away from the Sun as a constant gale of plasma,

known as the solar wind.

However, the Earth prevents the solar wind from traveling straight into the planet

by setting up a detour, the magnetosphere.

The magnetosphere is formed by the Earth's magnetic currents

and shields our planet from the solar winds

by sending out the particles around the Earth.

Their opportunity to continue the journey down to the atmosphere

comes when the magnetosphere is overwhelmed by a new wave of travelers.

This event is coronal mass ejection,

and it occurs when the Sun shoots out

a massive ball of plasma into the solar wind.

When one of these coronal mass ejections collides with Earth,

it overpowers the magnetosphere and creates a magnetic storm.

The heavy storm stresses the magnetosphere until it suddenly snaps back,

like and overstretched elastic band,

flinging some of the detoured particles towards Earth.

The retracting band of the magnetic field drags them down to the aurora ovals,

which are the locations of the northern and southern lights.

After traveling 93 million miles across the galaxy,

the Sun's particles finally produce their dazzling light show

with the help of some friends.

20 to 200 miles above the surface,

the electrons and protons meet up with oxygen and nitrogen atoms,

and they sure are happy to see each other.

The Sun's particles high five the atoms, giving their energy

to the Earth's neutral oxygen and nitrogen atoms.

When the atoms in the atmosphere are contacted by the particles,

they get excited and emit photons.

Photons are small bursts of energy in the form of light.

The colors that appear in the sky

depend on the wavelength of the atom's photon.

Excited oxygen atoms are responsible for the green and red colors,

whereas excited nitrogen atoms produce blue and deep red hues.

The collection of these interactions

is what creates the northern and southern lights.

The polar lights are best seen on clear nights

in regions close to magnetic north and south poles.

Nighttime is ideal

because the Aurora is much dimmer than sunlight

and cannot be seen in daytime.

Remember to look up at the sky and read up on the Sun's energy patterns,

specifically sunspots and solar flares,

as these will be good guides for predicting the auroras.