RESEARCH ARTICLES

Volume 8 |Issue 1| January-February 2020                                 First published: 30 February 2020

Review of terrestrial auroras (Aurora australis) and nonterrestrial auroras.

Dr (Ms) Swaroopa Rani N. Gupta

Department of Chemistry, Brijlal Biyani Science College Amravati, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

An aurora sometimes referred to as polar lights, northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in the Earth's sky, predominantly seen in the high-latitude regions around the Arctic and Antarctic. Auroras are perhaps the most spectacular manifestations of the complex interaction of the solar wind with the uter atmosphere. The energetic electrons and protons responsible for n aurora are directed by the solar wind along magnetic fields into Earth’s magnetosphere. The Earth’s atmosphere, which is primarily made up of oxygen and nitrogen atoms, absorbs the heat from the solar wind when the particles collide with the oxygen and nitrogen atoms. This impact and the heat put the atoms in an excited state. When these atoms come back to their normal state, they release the excessive energy in the form of visible photons. These photons are what we see and name as the Northern Lights and Southern Lights. The Aurora phenomenon is not exclusive to Earth. The lights can be seen on any and all planets that have magnetic poles. The portion of Earth that traverses the midnight portion of the auroral oval is known as the auroral zone. In the Northern Hemisphere this zone lies along a curve extending from the northern regions of Scandinavia through Iceland, the southern tip of Greenland, the southern region of Hudson Bay, central Alaska, and on to the coast of Siberia. This is the prime region from which to view an aurora in the Northern Hemisphere. The Aurora Australis is visible from high southern latitudes in Antarctica, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, and Australia. The most common type of aurora is associated with bombardment of the atmosphere by electrons with energies of up to 10,000 electron volts. Auroral displays are also produced by bombardment of the atmosphere by energetic protons. Protons with energies of up to 200,000 electron volts are responsible for auroral activity in a diffuse belt that is equatorward of the main auroral zone. The magnetosphere includes two doughnut-shaped radiation belts, or zones, centred on the Equator that are occupied by appreciable numbers of energetic protons and electrons trapped in the outermost reaches of the atmosphere called Van Allen radiation belts. This paper deals with review of terrestrial auroras which includes aurora, auroral zones, causes of auroral displays, Van Allen radiation belts, various images of terrestrial auroras - aurora australis. It also includes nonterrestrial auroras and some auroral events of historical significance.

Keywords: Aurora, Auroral zones, Van Allen radiation belts, Aurora Australis, Jupiter aurora, Saturn's aurora

Editor: Dr.Arvind Chavhan

Cite this article as:
Gupta Swaroopa Rani N. Review of terrestrial auroras (Aurora australis) and non-terrestrial auroras, Int. Res. Journal of Science & Engineering, 2020, Volume 8 Issue 1: 24-34.

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