What causes the different colors of an aurora borealis?

KANSAS (KSNT) - Working for you, 27 News reached out to NASA to better understand the colors of the aurora borealis.

We spoke to NASA Solar System Ambassador Brenda Culbtertson who said to think of the aurora borealis like an electric sign or light. She said that depending on what kind of gas is inside, the sign will glow different colors.

According to Culbertson, when the sun is active it may emit charged particles that collide with Earth's magnetic field. The closer to Earth's surface the magnetic field reaches, the rarer the gasses it excites in the atmosphere.

"The colors my husband and I saw mostly last night were reds and greens, indicating the excited oxygen atoms were what we saw," Culbertson said. "I also saw some blues and purples, but mostly red and green."

Culbertson told us that she also saw a Stable Auroral Red arc (SAR arc), something that's even more uncommon than seeing the aurora. She said a SAR arc is a red light that is "rippled" apart from the rest of the gasses. According to the NASA Website, SAR emission is thought to be caused by strong heating due to currents flowing from inside Earth's magnetosphere.

"The one I saw was when I was outside after 1:00 am," Culbertson said. "It stretched from eastern horizon, through about 60 degrees up from the southern horizon, and on to the western horizon."

Culbertson shared information from the Canadian Space Agency, Space.com, Aurora Zone and the Northern Lights Centre of Canada on the colors of the aurora borealis

• Red
  • These colors are only visible under intense solar activity and low oxygen at high altitudes.
  • Happens above 150 miles from the Earth's surface.
• Green
  • Green colors are caused by higher concentrations of oxygen.
  • Happens up to 150 miles above the Earth's surface.
• Purple/Light Blue
  • Purple and light blue colors are caused by the reaction to molecular nitrogen. This is because atomic oxygen is uncommon at lower altitudes.
  • Happens above 60 miles from Earth's surface with lighter colors happening up to 60 miles from Earth's surface.

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