• Question: do you delieve that solar flares can influence southern and northern lights?

    Asked by marcusw to Adam, Catherine, Karen, Leila, Nazim on 16 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Adam Stevens

      Adam Stevens answered on 13 Mar 2012:

      Definitely. The Northern and Southern lights are caused by solar radiation streaming down magnetic field lines over the poles, interacting with the atmosphere and making the lights. During solar flares the sun puts out way more radiation so there tend to be more Aurorae (N/S lights!)

    • Photo: Karen Masters

      Karen Masters answered on 13 Mar 2012:

      Well the northern and southern lights are made when charged particles from the Sun hit our atmosphere. Our magnetic field channels them towards the two poles. Solar flares release more charged particles than usual from the Sun. So if they come our way they make the northern/southern lights stronger.

    • Photo: Nazim Bharmal

      Nazim Bharmal answered on 16 Mar 2012:

      The southern and northern lights happen when fast moving, charged particles from the sun are funnelled along the magnetic field lines of the Earth and meet the atmosphere near the north and south poles.

      A solar flare is an eruption of material from the sun that contains a lot of charged particles, and if a flare is sent in the right direction (so it meets the Earth when it travels the right distance) then it can dramatically increase the brightness of the aurorae (the lights) as well as make them visible further south.

      (I was away when it happened recently, too far south to see anything although I did look.)

    • Photo: Leila Battison

      Leila Battison answered on 19 Mar 2012:

      I do indeed! The southern and northern lights are caused by charged particles getting excited and lighting up in the upper atmosphere. The solar wind is constantly bombarding the upper atmosphere with the particles that make this happen, but when there are flares, there’s an extra burst of particles from the sun, which make extra bright and long lasting northern and southern lights when they reach the Earth.

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