Northern Lights: The Traditional Explanation for the Aurora Borealis is Wrong, Physicist Says

14 September 2016

 - The Earth plays a much bigger role in creating the amazing light show than most people realise.

The Northern Lights are one of the most spectacular natural events on the planet. The usual explanation given by tour guides and in books is that charged particles carried by solar winds from the sun hit the Earth’s magnetic field.

But if this was the whole story, the aurora borealis, named after the ancient Greek goddess of the dawn, Aurora, and Boreas, the Greek name for the north wind, would hardly be visible as it would take place during the day, physicist Dr Melanie Windridge pointed out.

And the particles themselves do not actually have enough energy to create some of the staggering light shows seen closer to the poles.