Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory Office of Science NEWTON's Homepage NEWTON's Homepage
NEWTON, Ask A Scientist!
NEWTON Home Page NEWTON Teachers Visit Our Archives Ask A Question How To Ask A Question Question of the Week Our Expert Scientists Volunteer at NEWTON! Frequently Asked Questions Referencing NEWTON About NEWTON About Ask A Scientist Education At Argonne Aurora Borealis 
Name: Amanda Smith
Status: N/A
Age: 13
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: 1993 - 1999
Question:
What is an Aurora Borealis made of and why does it appear only sometimes

Replies:
Aurora Borealis is made of charged particles moving in Earth's magnetic field. These particles emit light as they interact with the ionosphere. These particles are emitted by Sun in small quantities ( as compared to Sun's mass ) and whenever these cross Earth, we see the display. Solar activity has an 11 yea r period so the Auroral activity also varies over this period.

Jasjeet ( Jasjeet S Bagla )


Click here to return to the Astronomy Archives

NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.

For assistance with NEWTON contact a System Operator (help@newton.dep.anl.gov), or at Argonne's Educational Programs

NEWTON AND ASK A SCIENTIST
Educational Programs
Building 360
9700 S. Cass Ave.
Argonne, Illinois
60439-4845, USA
Update: June 2012
Weclome To Newton

Argonne National Laboratory