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What Causes the Colors of Aurora Borealis?

The aurora borealis is like a light show on the sky. When tiny particles from the sun hit Earth's atmosphere, they make colors appear! Green comes from oxygen high up in the air, and red or purple come from nitrogen lower down. It’s kind of like when you mix paint, each color has its own special place in this sky dance.

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Examples

  1. When a green ribbon appears in the sky, it’s like oxygen gas is smiling at you from high up in the air.
  2. Sometimes you see purple lights, that means nitrogen molecules are lighting up below the other colors.
  3. If the sky looks red and dancing, that's deeper oxygen giving off its special glow.

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Categories: Space · aurora· space phenomena· magnetosphere· solar wind