The aurora is one of nature’s most spectacular sights, a dazzling glow in the upper atmosphere driven by space weather.
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Articles on Aurora borealis
Displaying 1 - 20 of 21 articles
People expect to brave brutally cold landscapes if they want to catch sight of the aurora borealis. So people were stunned to see the ethereal light display as far south as Cornwall.
Space weather can affect satellites in a number of different ways, from frying electronics to increasing drag in the atmosphere.
It’s often said that the aurora, or the northern lights, is caused by ‘particles from the Sun’. But in reality things are more complicated.
A curious kid asks: Why are the northern lights only spotted at areas around the poles?
Depending on who you ask, the northern lights may, very occasionally, sound like ‘rustling silk’ or ‘two planks meeting flat ways’.
When solar particles reach the Earth, they not only produce spectacular auroras but also contribute to the chemical reactions leading to ozone depletion, which in turn influences climate patterns.
The northern lights might look like magic, but they can actually be explained by science – here’s how.
The wired Earth of the 21st century is at the mercy of the volatile nature of the sun.
At a time in the sun’s cycle when space weather experts expect less solar activity, our star is going bonkers with solar flares and coronal mass ejections. What effects will Earth feel?
Scientists still don’t know what caused the mysterious phenomenon ‘Steve’.
Historical records can help us understand what will happen to the northern lights.
Here’s how to tell airglow from northern lights.
New research solves enigma of strange hotspots in Jupiter’s atmosphere.
Recent Martian findings are just the latest discoveries of aurora on other planets, both in and out of our solar system.
Geomagnetic storms can interact with particles near Earth, causing issues for satellites and other tech. Researchers send balloons 20 miles into the sky to figure out just what’s going on up there.
Astronauts living on the ISS get to experience the wonders of the universe’s natural phenomena like no one else.
Our power grid infrastructure on Earth is more vulnerable to space weather than previously thought – with susceptibility in more regions and even during quiet geomagnetic periods.
The southern lights that put on a show recently across parts of Australia are easily explained by science. But some cultures have their own explanation for these dazzling lights in the sky.
How scientists tracked a massive emission from the sun right across the solar system.
Top contributors
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Senior Research Associate in Space and Planetary Physics, Lancaster University
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Associate Professor, RMIT University
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Researcher in Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College
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Professor of Space Physics, Lancaster University
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Associate Professor, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Utah State University
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Professor of Physics, Deputy Director (Solar System) at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, UCL
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Lecturer in Mathematics, University of Dundee
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Boston College
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Boston College
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RMIT University
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Honorary Research Fellow, Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow
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Research Officer, RMIT University
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Research Professor of Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology
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Post-Doctoral Research Assistant in Photobiology, University of Dundee
