noorderlicht aurora borealis

navigate by keyword : all altitude and antarctic arctic are around atmosphere aurora auroral auroras autumn band borealis but caused charged collision dawn directed display earth equinoxes especially expands from geomagnetic goddess high into known lapland latin latitude latitudes light local longitudes lower magnetosphere magnetospheric most natural noorderlicht observed occur often particles poles regions roman sky solar spring storm sunrise the thermosphere times typically vividly which wide wind with word zone

Reykholtskirkja - eldri, one of the many Icelandic churches. Royalty Free Stock Photo

Northern lights Royalty Free Stock Photo

An aurora is a natural light display in the sky (from the Latin word aurora, sunrise or the Roman goddess of dawn), especially in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) regions, caused by the collision of solar wind and magnetospheric charged particles with the high altitude atmosphere (thermosphere). Most auroras occur in a band known as the auroral zone,[1][2] which is typically 3ÃÂ° to 6ÃÂ° wide in latitude and observed at 10ÃÂ° to 20ÃÂ° from the geomagnetic poles at all local times (or longitudes), but often most vividly around the spring and autumn equinoxes. The charged particles and solar wind are directed into the atmosphere by the Earth's magnetosphere. A geomagnetic storm expands the auroral zone to lower latitudes.