Aurora

One of the most magnificent sky phenomena, which Almighty ALLAH created, are "Polar Lights" which are natural light images we can see in the sky. Polar lights, or by their scientific name "Auroras", are one of the manifestations of Allah’s name "SANI" (artist). Polar lights are a night luminescence which could be seen in the Northern and Southern Polar regions. Auroras are one of the most visible effects of the sun towards the Earth. The auroras, which can be clearly seen at night have two names, the one seen in the Northern hemisphere is called "Aurora Borealis". The one seen in the Southern hemisphere is called "Aurora Australis". These lights can be seen mostly in September and April. Auroras fluctuate from east to west. When you look at them from the Earth, they appear in shapes of a bow and lines. It is only possible to see the full circle shape of the whole aurora from space.

How are auroras formed?

In the formation of this amazing natural light show, atoms which are very small and invisible to the naked eye also do not have any mind and consciousness, undertake a very important role. Auroras emerge as a result of the interaction of charged particles scattered from the sun with the Earth's magnetic field. The sun produces energy particles (ions) which radiate rapidly with a speed of approximately 300 to 1200 kilometers per second. The clouds are formed from the joining of these energy particles called plasma. The plasma stream, coming from the sun, is called solar wind. Some particles are trapped by the interaction of Earth's magnetic field and the solar winds emerging from the sun with a speed of approximately 1 million miles per hour after they enter the magnetosphere. These particles follow the magnetic lines of force leading down from the outer zones of the atmosphere to the ionosphere. When the electrons enter the upper layers of the atmosphere they face oxygen and nitrogen atoms, approximately 20 to 200 miles above the Earth's crust. In this way, atoms which earn electrons supported by high energy become loaded with an energy well above their capacity. Under normal conditions, when an atom or a molecule is loaded with this kind of high level of energy, they lose it by hitting other atoms rapidly. However, at altitudes between 80 and 150 km where molecular density is a few atoms per cubic centimeters, it is very unlikely for an atom to coincide with another atom to transfer its energy. Another way to lose this energy, which is formed as a result of this interaction, is through absorption of the light. In this way, atoms absorb the extra energy and spread this energy as light into the sky. The spreading of energy as light leads to the emergence of the colorful natural light shows seen in the sky.