Where is the ionosphere and why does it cause auroras?

Where is the ionosphere and why does it cause auroras?

Starting at about 80 kilometers above Earth, the bombardment of solar ultraviolet light and X-rays strips atoms and molecules of their electrons and creates a layer of charged particles called the ionosphere. This layer reflects radio waves back to Earth and creates spectacular auroras.

What causes auroras to form?

Bottom line: When charged particles from the sun strike atoms in Earth’s atmosphere, they cause electrons in the atoms to move to a higher-energy state. When the electrons drop back to a lower energy state, they release a photon: light. This process creates the beautiful aurora, or northern lights.

How do auroras form in outer atmosphere?

The short answer to how the aurora happens is that energetic electrically charged particles (mostly electrons) accelerate along the magnetic field lines into the upper atmosphere, where they collide with gas atoms, causing the atoms to give off light.

What layer do auroras form in?

The aurora (Northern Lights and Southern Lights) mostly occur in the thermosphere. The thermosphere is a layer of Earth’s atmosphere. The thermosphere is directly above the mesosphere and below the exosphere. It extends from about 90 km (56 miles) to between 500 and 1,000 km (311 to 621 miles) above our planet.

How does the ionosphere form?

The ionosphere is constantly changing. Because it’s formed when particles are ionized by the Sun’s energy, the ionosphere changes from Earth’s day side to night side. When night falls, the ionosphere thins out as previously ionized particles relax and recombine back into neutral particles.

Are Auroras found in ionosphere?

Aurora borealis occur in the Earth’s ionosphere, and result from collisions between energetic electrons (sometimes also protons, and even heavier charged particles) and atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere.