What are The Northern Lights? | Sci Guide (Ep 37) w/ Jheni Osman | Head Squeeze
545The wondrous mystery of the Aurora Borealis or Northern lights scientifically explained by Jheni Osman in this Head Squeeze video.
What causes the Northern Lights? Well apparently it's our Sun and as we are at the peak of an eleven year solar cycle, 2013 is a fantastic year to see them!
The Sun's core nuclear fusion heats hydrogen turning it into helium at extraordinarily high temperatures. Particles heated to this extreme move at very high speeds. If they reach over 400 km/s they can break free from the Sun's gravity. Then they come streaming across space in the solar wind.
The solar wind would destroy all life on earth due to its lethal radiation were it nor for the protection of the Earth's magnetic field. At the centre of our planet a hot crystal centre stirs up the molten core, resulting in powerful magnetic forces which create a protective envelope called the magnetosphere.
However at the Earth's poles some of the solar charged particles manage to break through the magnetosphere, smashing into the upper atmosphere and colliding with nitrogen and oxygen ions, absorbing their energy. As the ions return to their natural state they radiate light. Nitrogen emits red, blue and purple, while oxygen emits red and yellow. If you see green in the aurora borealis, that's a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen ions.
Earth's Aurorae can also be seen in the south, known as the Aurora Australis in places like Australasia, Antarctica, Argentina and Chile between March and September.
Aurorae can be seen on other planets which have even stronger magnetic fields than Earth such as Jupiter and Saturn. The Hubble Space Telescope has captured picture of Aurorae on far away Neptune and Uranus.
In the likely event that you want to see them form Earth, head down to the most Northern or Southern point you can on a clear crisp night and get ready for the light show!
If you enjoyed this magical, sparkling video from Jheni be sure to subscribe for more, give us a thumbs up and post any questions you might have in the comments below.
Want more videos that are out of this world? Check out James May Q&A- Where does the atmosphere end.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqv-0qd7sBg&feature=share&list=PLMrtJn-MOYmfqNgyPxx6NYMZnd25y4shc
If you think the Northern Lights look spectacular, click on the link to discover what comets are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsTE6pV4wpU&feature=share&list=PLMrtJn-MOYme6klSjJXoZfWmNZ6ZthOSA
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Sci Guide: Taking a twist on the latest science and tech news, our experts unravel some bizarre sideways tangents and discuss the latest gadgets like Google Glass, how ears might give us power in the future, and reveal the latest debates on the Big Bang Theory.