Weather field note
Colors from the sun
The Sky's Dancing Lights
Near the North and South Poles, the night sky can glow and ripple with waves of green, pink, and purple light called an aurora.
Let's look closer
Why does the sky glow and dance like that?
iny invisible particles blow out from the sun and race through space until some of them crash into gases high above Earth. That crash makes the gases light up, kind of like how a glowing sign works, with oxygen glowing green and nitrogen glowing blue or purple. The lights seem to ripple and dance because Earth's magnetic field is constantly steering the particles into shifting, curving paths.
Look for this
Explorer clue
Watch a video of the aurora borealis rippling across the night sky, and notice how the colors seem to move like slow, silent waves.
Your turn to wonder
Curiosity question
If the sky could glow any color when you feel happy, what color would it be?
Keep wandering
