norcioortizjr Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 Is there a possibility that Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis to happen in any part of the world...I'm confused why only in the north and south pole happen this majestic view on the sky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CraigD Posted May 20, 2016 Report Share Posted May 20, 2016 Is there a possibility that Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis to happen in any part of the world[?]Yes. It’s rare for aurora lights to be seen in the sky outside of the “auroral zone” about 20o N or S latitude, but if the Earth is stuck by a very intense bombardment of charged particles, it can happen. One famous instance of aurorae being visible far toward the equator was the Solar Storm of 1859. I'm confused why only in the north and south pole happen this majestic view on the sky.If has to do with how the Earth’s magnetic field deflects the incoming solar wind, which consists of charged particles, primarily protons and electrons, from the Sun. It’s easier to describe this with a picture than words. Look at this one, from the Wikipedia article magnetosphere: See how the magnetic field deflect the solar wind away from the Earth, except for the funnel-shaped “polar cusps”? This is why the aurora lights usually appear only in two narrow latitudinal bands of the sky. As should be clear from these pictures and links, it’s important to understand that the aurorae come from much closer (60000 to 100000000 m, the ionosphere) - to the Earth’s surface than the light from the moon, planets, and stars. So the few people that are near the poles see them overhead, most people see them low in the sky to the north or south, and astronauts see them below, between them and the Earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcioortizjr Posted May 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 21, 2016 thank you CraigD for your reply to this topic. highly appreciated.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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