Northern Lights Research Paper

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Northern Lights The Northern lights, you could see them in the North pole. They look beautiful right, well have you ever wondered what causes the beautiful colors in the sky? Have you ever questioned yourself about there history or their sound and shape? How are Northern lights formed? Northern lights form when charged particles are released from then sun into Earth's atmosphere that hit the gas-like particles in the North pole that cause the lights you see and know as auroras. There's two kinds of auroras, "aurora borealis" (northernlightscentre.ca) located in the North that means "dawn of the North." (northernlightscentre.ca) Also, "Aurora Australis" (northernlightscentre.ca) located in the South that means "dawn of the South." (northernlightscentre.ca) …show more content…

Well, it all depends on the different gases in the Earth's atmosphere and the height the gas is in. The red around the arc, cloud, or streak shapes are nitrogen molecules they're low in the atmosphere at about "100km/60 miles" (www.athropolis.com) yet the red in the shape is oxygen in a high altitude "above 300km/185 miles." (www.athropolis.com) The yellow/green color is oxygen in low altitude "between 100-300km/60-185 miles." (www.athropolis.com) The blue and purple are hard to see in nights sky but they are created by hydrogen and helium in high altitude Some of them move, brighten, or flicker all of a sudden. You could see them more "during the most intense phase of the 11 year sunspot cycle." (The World Book Encyclopedia, 895-896) Is it possible to hear the Northern lights? Many say they have heard crackling, swishing, and hissing sounds but scientist haven't been able to collect any real evidence that the Northern lights make sounds. It possibly might have to do with the thin air because it's to thin to produce a sound wave. "Sound is a longitudinal wave-as the wave passes through the air moves backwards and forwards in the pipe, this oscillatory movement is in the same direction the wave is traveling." (galileo.phys.virgina.edu) Since the air is to thin it can't do

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