Aurora borealis or northern lights display over a hut in a forest at a high northern latitude. Auroral displays are caused by interactions between energetic charged particles from the Sun and gas atoms and molecules about 100 kilometres up in the upper atmosphere. A stream of charged particles (the solar wind) flows out into space continuously from the Sun at speeds of 400-500 kilometres per second. On reaching Earth,the charged particles are drawn by Earth's magnetic field to the poles,where they collide with these gas atoms and molecules,causing them to emit light | |
Lizenzart: | Lizenzpflichtig |
Credit: | Science Photo Library / Douek, Laurent / EURELIOS |
Bildgröße: | 3582 px × 2480 px |
Modell-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Eigentums-Rechte: | nicht erforderlich |
Restrictions: |
|