How the Northern Lights are formed

Aurora borealis, or northern lights, are caused by magnetic plasma from the Sun interacting with Earth's magnetic field. Charged particles from the solar wind enter Earth's atmosphere, drawn to the magnetic poles, exciting atoms and molecules, which emit light. The solar wind can disconnect Earth's magnetic field lines, and when they reconnect, charged particles enter the atmosphere, causing auroras. Excited atoms have electrons that move to higher energy orbits and release photons when they return to lower orbits.

What causes the aurora borealis to occur?

• The reflection of sunlight on ice

• Earth's gravitational pull

• Blasts of magnetic plasma from the Sun

• The rotation of the Earth

Where are charged particles from the solar wind drawn to in Earth's atmosphere?

• The equator

• The ozone layer

• The magnetic North and South Poles

• The tropics

What happens when charged particles excite atoms and molecules in the atmosphere?

• They change color

• They become heavier

• They emit light

• They absorb light

What can cause Earth's magnetic field lines to disconnect and reconnect?

• Lunar phases

• Solar wind

• Tidal forces

• Volcanic eruptions

What occurs when electrons move back to lower energy orbits?

• They split into smaller particles

• They absorb photons

• They release photons

• They become neutral