Why Do Auroras Happen?

Imagine the Sun is throwing little balls of energy toward Earth. When these balls hit our atmosphere, they light up the sky like a fireworks show, that's an aurora! The lights usually happen near the North and South Poles because those places are where the energy from space hits our atmosphere most strongly.

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Examples

A dog runs through a field of tall grass and knocks it down; the grass sways like an aurora.
When you flick a switch, the lights in your house come on like a sudden burst of aurora.
Imagine being on a spacewalk, and the whole sky above you is glowing, that's what astronauts sometimes see during a aurora.

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Categories: Science · aurora· northern lights· solar wind· magnetosphere· space weather