Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights)
Summary
This video brings to our notice the concept of Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights. Aurora was the Roman goddess of dawn while Boreal is the Latin word for north. Though there exist many myths, legends and superstitions across cultures regarding the auroras, by the mid 1800s scientists began demystifying the mystery. As Sten Odenwald from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center explains, sun is the source of auroras. The sun gives out charged particles called ions and these ions travel into space at great speeds. A cloud of such ions is called plasma and a stream of plasma is called solar wind. The sun’s corona continuously emits solar wind (mostly protons and electrons) flowing out in all directions. The interaction of these particles with the earth’s atmosphere gives rise to these magnificent auroras.
Related Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaSFAbATPvk
Related Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJBrMXSn-hU
Related Video 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDst9Nbi-jg
Keywords: NASA Connect, NASA, Aurora Borealis, Northern Lights, Aurora Australis, Southern Lights, Goddard Space Flight Center, plasma, corona, sun, solar wind
