Asked by: Piadosa Zarrouk
science space and astronomy

Does the moon have an aurora?

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Ganymede is the only moon in the solar systemthat displays auroras. Auroras on Earth are beautifuland yield important information about "space weather"—theinteraction of the charged particles streaming from the sun withthe Earth's magnetic field. Also, water affects surfaces that canstabilize aurora formation.


Considering this, why don't we see auroras on the moon?

The charged solar particles excite those earthly atoms,causing them to light up, creating the aurora. This sort ofactivity in Earth's atmosphere happens during geomagnetic storms,and a full moon has absolutely no effect on either solarstorms or geomagnetic storms. The answer depends on the strength ofthe aurora.

Furthermore, do other planets have aurora borealis? They can be seen on other planets in our solarsystem too. Space scientists at NASA have been able toconfirm that some of our closest neighbouring planets suchas Jupiter and Saturn have their own auroras. Theseauroras are slightly different from Earth's, becausetheir atmospheres and poles are different.

People also ask, can you see the northern lights if the moon is out?

Even if the Northern Lights areout, but it is overcast, you are unlikely tosee them so cloud cover is indeed the deciding factor, muchmore so than the full moon.

What causes the northern lights to occur?

Bottom line: When charged particles from the sun strikeatoms in Earth's atmosphere, they cause electrons in theatoms to move to a higher-energy state. When the electrons dropback to a lower energy state, they release a photon: light.This process creates the beautiful aurora, or northernlights.

Related Question Answers

Conception Nazabal

Professional

Are Auroras dangerous?

The Northern Lights occur so high up in the atmospherethat they don't pose any threat to people watching them from theground. The aurora itself is not harmful to humansbut the electrically charged particles produced could have somepotentially negative effects to infrastructure andtechnology.

Walquiria Gaseni

Professional

Can you see Northern Lights in South Pole?

The southern lights aren't seen as often as thenorthern lights (aurora borealis), but that's onlybecause the southern part of Earth's globe is less populatedthan the north. Bottom line: Photos of the aurora australis,or southern lights, and April 2017's full moon, as seen fromthe South Pole.

Ulla Quijije

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What causes aurora colors?

The “northern lights” are caused bycollisions between fast-moving particles (electrons) from space andthe oxygen and nitrogen gas in our atmosphere. Oxygen emits eithera greenish-yellow light (the most familiar color of theaurora) or a red light; nitrogen generally gives off a bluelight.

Grygoriy Gerstenberger

Explainer

Why are there northern lights in Alaska?

The bright dancing lights of theaurora are actually collisions between electrically chargedparticles from the sun that enter the earth'satmosphere. The lights are seen above the magneticpoles of the northern and southern hemispheres.

Adolph Ihitzaga

Explainer

Why are auroras at the poles?

The electrons that create auroras start in theouter layers of the field, where it is compressed by the solarwind. They accelerate along the field lines, converging toward themagnetic poles from all directions. This results in an ovalring around each magnetic pole where aurorasoccur.

Estanisla Besada

Explainer

Why is the aurora borealis green?

The colors most often associated with the auroraborealis are pink, green, yellow, blue, violet, andoccasionally orange and white. Typically, when the particlescollide with oxygen, yellow and green are produced.Interactions with nitrogen produce red, violet, and occasionallyblue colors.

Umayma Engenheiro

Pundit

What causes auroras to occur?

The short answer to how the aurora happens isthat energetic electrically charged particles (mostly electrons)accelerate along the magnetic field lines into the upperatmosphere, where they collide with gas atoms, causing the atoms togive off light.

Rachel Padron

Pundit

Why is Aurora Borealis only in the North?

The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis,are caused by charged gas particles - that flow away from the Sunas a "solar wind" - interacting with the Earth's magnetic field.This solar wind has its own magnetic field, which can "drag away"the Earth's magnetic field lines, disconnecting them from ourplanet.

Giulio Jaberri

Pundit

Is the water in Iceland safe to drink?

The Icelandic Water – So Pure, SoDelicious! You might have heard this before, but here it is, onemore time: Icelandic water is safe to drink, straightfrom the tap. It will probably even taste better straight from thetap than it does from a bottle since it won't have spent such along time in a plastic bottle.

Soulaimane Guereño

Pundit

What does the aurora borealis look like?

When you see them in real life, the NorthernLights aren't actually very colorful at all. They often appearmilky white in color, "almost like a cloud," as one seasonedtraveler puts it. He says he often sees them as mostly white, withfaint hints of red and pink.

Rufus Dzhamaldinov

Pundit

Where is the best place in the world to see the northern lights?

Northern Lights, Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks sits in the auroral oval, a ring-shapedarea around the North Pole, and it's one of the bestplaces in the world to see thelights.

Wilfrida Bockhorst

Teacher

Where in the US can you see the Northern Lights?

Where to go see the Northern Lights
  • Puget Sound, Washington.
  • Glacier National Park, Montana.
  • Headlands Dark Sky Park, Michigan.
  • Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Wisconsin.
  • Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota.
  • Baxter State Park, Maine.

Xulian Hadri

Teacher

Are there Southern Lights?

Yes, there are southern lights. The auroraaustralis occurs around the southern magnetic pole, much asthe aurora borealis (northern lights) occurs around thenorthern magnetic pole.

Geovanny Hovsepyan

Teacher

What is a red aurora?

A red aurora is a real and spectacular scientificphenomenon, and one steeped in mythology Photograph: StephenNowers/AP. The red glow in the sky grew and lengthened, thelower edge twisting into a bright band against thedarkness.

Kuldeep Sanchez Crespo

Teacher

Are the Northern Lights Real?

Polar lights (aurora polaris) are a naturalphenomenon found in both the northern and southernhemispheres that can be truly awe inspiring. Northern lightsare also called by their scientific name, aurora borealis,and southern lights are called auroraaustralis.

Bueyo Dunlop

Reviewer

Where do auroras occur in the atmosphere?

The aurora (Northern Lights and Southern Lights) mostlyoccur in the thermosphere. The thermosphere is a layer ofEarth's atmosphere. The thermosphere is directly above themesosphere and below the exosphere.

Roseli Parry

Reviewer

Can you see the northern lights in New York?

The closer you are to the poles, the more oftenyou will be able to see auroras. Certainly aurorascan be seen in New York and much of the rest of thecountry, but in the U.S., the farther north you live, thebetter your chances. In the southern hemisphere, the farther southyou live, the better the aurora viewing.

Lambertus Gangulee

Reviewer

What are the Northern Lights Wikipedia?

An aurora, also called polar light, northernlight or southern light, is a natural light display in the sky.They are usually seen in the high latitudes (Arctic and Antarctic)regions. Auroras are produced when the Earth's magnetosphere isdisturbed by the solar wind.

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EveryThingWhat Staff Editor

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28th April, 2020

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