northern lights

Northern Lights

on Arctic nights the aurora often flames across the winter sky what is it and where does it come from this is where the tale of the Aurora starts on the Sun a star of average size among billions of other stars in our Milky Way the son acts as an enormous power plant the energy is created deep inside the core of the Sun here the temperature is over 14 million degrees and the pressure so enormous that hydrogen atoms are squeezed together into another

element helium this nuclear reaction releases energy the light radiates outward from the core of the Sun in the outer layers the heat moves to the surface in huge Eddie's called convection cells these electrical currents of charged gas create magnetic fields inside the Sun in some places strong magnetic fields push their way up through the surface they slow down the eddies of hot gas the surface cools and darker sunspots appear

the electrically charged gas is called plasma the plasma drags the magnetic field further outwards the magnetic field stretches and twists like a rubber band then the rubber band breaks several billion tons of plasma is hurled out from the Sun this is called a solar storm the solar storm can reach speeds over eight million kilometres an hour after six hours it blows past the planet Mercury after 12 hours the planet Venus after 18 hours the solar storm reaches earth when the solar storm reaches our planet something strange happens an invisible shield the Earth's magnetic field deflects the storm the magnetic fields coupled together and create a funnel for the gas streams down on the daylight side of the pole this is the daylight Aurora the magnetic fields stretch further back and couple together the magnetic rubber band breaks and gas from the solar storm streams along the magnetic lines towards the poles on the night side this is the nighttime Aurora