After a Solar Storm

As seen on Astronomy Picture of the Day, following a solar storm that reached the Earth magnetic field, the dancing northern lights or aurora borealis fill the night sky over the northern Canada, near the town of Yellowknife, known as one of the world’s best aurora watching destinations. Click on the second photo to see another view of this night. Aurora, which is mostly seen from polar latitudes is produced by the collision of charged particles from Earth’s magnetosphere, mostly electrons but also protons and heavier particles, with atoms and molecules of Earth’s atmosphere (at altitudes above 80 km). The particles originate from the Sun and reach the Earth in the stream of solar wind.