The process of the occurrence of the aurora is quite an interesting phenomenon. Aurora is a natural phenomenon with many bright and attractive lights in the night sky. The appearance is very beautiful and mesmerizing.
Maybe many people can’t enjoy the sight of this sky. Only a few countries can enjoy it and far from the equator. Many foreign tourists are trying to enjoy the natural phenomenon of the aurora.
Unfortunately, this phenomenon cannot be seen from Indonesia. To see the activity of this phenomenon only around the north pole and south pole. Most people prefer the northern area because it looks clearer.
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Aurora is a beam of light that glows and moves through the ionosphere. It is not surprising that there is an interaction between the magnetic field and air particles. In this case, the aurora phenomenon can be seen through around the earth’s poles.
Understand the process of the occurrence of the aurora, an interesting phenomenon
The aurora phenomenon emits charged particles with high energy from the sun. Many people know the phenomenon by the name of the solar wind (solar wind). Of course, it has wind speeds of around 300,000 to 1,000,000 meters per second.
Having a density of about 0.1 to 30 cm square. The wind cannot directly touch the Earth because it has a magnetic field. This brings the density of the atmosphere to approximately 1,019 particles per cubic centimeter.
In the future, the possibility that the solar wind will touch the Earth is getting smaller. Particles of the solar wind can penetrate Earth’s atmosphere. This results in collisions between air molecules.
This causes the process of the occurrence of aurora in the form of light that radiates into the sky. There is light that forms molecules from air molecules so that they absorb energy from solar wind particles. This can emit it in the form of visible light.
The visible colors come from the collision between air molecules and solar wind particles. For example there is a green color which is the result of electron particles with nitrogen molecules. While the red color comes from the electron particles and oxygen molecules.
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The reason for the occurrence of Aurora
There are many reasons that cause the aurora process to appear, namely:
The Sun’s Magnetic Field Is Unstable
In this case, the unstable magnetic field of the sun can cause the formation of sun spot or sunspots. These spots are dark areas of the sun and cold areas of the sun. Its size can reach 50,000 kilometers with a temperature of 3800 degrees Kelvin.
Explosion Sun Spot which Causes a Solar Storm
Then the process of the occurrence of the aurora due to the increasingly unstable magnetic field. Due to the high intensity of convection flow at the center of the sun causing cold temperatures at sun spot. The occurrence of current pressure makes sun spot broken down to form flare or flames.
In this case, the charged particles will cause a solar storm to hurl towards Earth. So that the process of the occurrence of the aurora can take place properly.
The Existence of the Sun’s Storm Throwing Into the Earth
The magnetosphere is the layer of the sky that affects the magnetic field of the Earth. Its function is to protect the Earth and everything in it from the brunt of space objects and particles. So it is very dangerous for human life.
The process of the occurrence of the aurora makes the magnetic field lines surround the Earth with a distance of 10 times the radius of the Earth. On the dark side of the Earth, the night begins to reach hundreds of times the radius of the Earth itself.
When a solar storm first reaches Earth, the particles are carried away by the solar wind. In this case, it splits into two turns around the Earth in an area or magneto health. While the second part exists as particles that enter the atmospheric layer.
On the part of the particles that penetrate can not enter the Earth’s atmosphere. Still have to face the second defense from Earth. In the process of the occurrence of this aurora, the van Allen radiation belt is the name of the event.
Wind Particles Trapped in the Atmosphere
When particles enter the atmosphere trapped in the van Allen belt, the solar wind particles drive large amounts of electricity. In this case, it carries electricity to the strongest magnetic fields on Earth at the south and north poles.
When close to Earth’s magnetic field, the aurora looks bigger and clearer. And vice versa when moving away from the poles, the Earth’s magnetic field gets weaker. The process of the occurrence of the aurora is very interesting and attracts the attention of many people. (R10 / HR-Online / Editor-Ndu)
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