Sun on Ice
The Fascinating Play of Northern Lights
Giant eruptions on the Sun throw electrically charged particles out into space. When they reach the Earth, its magnetic field deflects most of them. At the North and South Poles, they enter the Earth’s atmosphere and light up the sky as a result of physical processes. An animation follows the path of these particles from Sun to Earth and shows how they cause this atmospheric light phenomenon, known as the Northern Lights.
