Northern Lights in Illinois
Cayden Rodgers
Award: Top 100
School: evanston township high school
Teacher: daniel dubrow
Category: Natural
Photo #19231
Northern Lights in Illinois
This photo shows the phenomenon known as the Northern Lights. It usually occurs in a band around the Earth's magnetic poles in the Northern Hemisphere.
The Northern Lights happen when the sun emits a solar wind (a stream of charged particles). A solar wind is caused by a coronal mass ejection on the sun. The particles are attracted to Earth's magnetic field and are funneled into the poles where the field is the strongest, then collide with atoms. The collisions excite the atoms, and they release photons.
This photo was taken at Lighthouse Beach in Evanston, Illinois, on October 10th, 2024. A G4 geomagnetic storm occurred on this night, which made the aurora visible much farther south than usual.
In the image, you can see hues of green and purple. The green is caused by excited oxygen atoms about 60 to 150 miles above Earth and is the most common color to see. The purple is less common and comes from nitrogen atoms emitting photons around 125 miles above the Earth. You can also see a line between the two colors, which happens because the magnetic field guides the particles in vertical, sheet-like patterns.
That night, I noticed that the camera captured the light much better than my eyes. Human eyes are limited in low light. The iPhone I used has a Night Mode, which keeps the shutter open longer and captures more light.
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