WATCH: Meteorologist Kristi Gordon explains how the Northern Lights are formed
The Aurora Borealis has been spotted from all across B.C. in the last few days and as far south as Whistler.
Many lucky people have seen the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis but very few understand what it is or how it is created.
Let’s use the analogy of a neon light. A neon light is simply a tube containing a gas which gives off light when it becomes ‘energized’ by electricity (or when it is conducting electricity). The electricity comes from the power source in your wall outlet and travels along a wire to the end of the tube.
The Northern Lights are very similar. Solar wind from the sun or at times, a solar flare is the power source. These send particles toward the earth along the earth’s magnetic field lines (the wires). When they reach the earth’s ionosphere, the outermost part of the atmosphere, the particles hit gas atoms in the ionosphere with such force the gas becomes ‘energized’ and it gives off light.
This typically occurs at the poles because the earth’s magnetic field lines are concentrated over the poles.
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