What causes Aurora?
Aurora are caused when atomic particles collide with the atoms in the earths atmosphere. The atomic particles originate from the Sun and travel to the earth as part of the solar wind. The solar winds interacts with the earths magnetic field, this causes some particles to be trapped by the earths magnetic field. Normally these particles travel back and forth along the magnetic field lines (spiralling around the field line), bouncing before colliding with the earth’s atmosphere. When a particle interacts with a VLF wave (see below) it can penetrate the atmosphere, thus interacting with the atoms that form the atmosphere and thus giving of energy in the form of light.
