Northern lights, also called Aurora Borealis, were seen over much of our region by a great many people Monday and Tuesday nights.
Northern lights are caused by high energy particles emitted from the sun. When these supercharged particles reach Earth, they react with gasses in the upper atmosphere, releasing photons in the process.
The photons glow varying colors based on the gas. Oxygen glows green. Nitrogen glows red. Earth's magnetic field concentrates the particles, and the aurorae, near the magnetic poles, which is why we see them more frequently in the north-northeastern sky.
Aurorae are more frequent and often more brilliant during times of heightened solar storminess. The frequency of solar storms is related to the eleven year solar cycle but these are not identical.
In fact, they vary greatly. During the 1990s and 2000s, northern lights at our latitude have been seen less frequently than they were back in the 1980s. The present cycle has been more active.
