Aurora Collection

Capturing the ethereal beauty of the northern lights, this photography collection of aurora borealis showcases nature's mesmerizing light show in all its glory. Each photograph in the collection is a unique display of vibrant colors dancing across the night sky, creating a magical and awe-inspiring spectacle. From shimmering green hues to hints of purple and pink, these images capture the celestial wonder of the aurora borealis in all its breathtaking splendor, offering viewers a glimpse into the enchanting world of the northern lights.

How Does The Aurora Borealis Happen?

When a large ‘cloud’ of plasma on the sun erupts from the sun’s outer atmosphere, (the corona) it can get ‘embedded’ in an ejected magnetic field. Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) typically occur when highly twisted magnetic field structures, known as flux ropes, in the Sun's lower corona become overly stressed.

To relieve this tension, the magnetic field structures undergo a process called magnetic reconnection, in which they rearrange themselves into a more relaxed and stable configuration. This release of magnetic energy launches the plasma and magnetic field  structures away from the Sun in the form of a CME. 

These CME’s are relatively slow travelling ranging from 250- 3000 km/s (as compared to solar flares). 

These ejections can sometimes head towards earth- The charged particles from the sun (electrons and protons) are guided towards Earth's poles by our planet's magnetic field. As these particles spiral down the magnetic field lines, (as per Lorentz force: which causes charged particles electrons (-) and protons (+) to experience a force perpendicular to their current direction of motion when they move through a magnetic field) the force causes the particles to spiral down the magnetic field lines eventually colliding with the atoms and molecules in Earth's atmosphere- where the particles decohere into photons emitting light!

Oxygen auroras, typically categorized by their greens colour usually occur closer to the earth’s surface, however when collisions occur high in the atmosphere it creates a red colour. Nitrogen (blue and purple), and Helium (pink) typically occur higher in the atmosphere. CME’s- for optimal disturbance (prettiest lights) would be positioned with its magnetic poles in opposite direction  of earth’s. Which causes the earth’s magnetic field to be reorganized 

Essentially sun gets disturbed yeets light into the atmosphere and light collides with gases to make aurora. 

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