Solar flare material causes Earth aurorae
Date: 29 April 2009
Copyright: NASA/ESA
Plasma blasted from the Sun's atmosphere impacts on the Earth's magnetosphere and compresses it on the dayside. Part of the material is caught in the Earth's magnetic field and after a reconnection of magnetic field lines on the nightside is flung towards the Earth's atmosphere where the energetic particles cause aurorae.
Last Update: 1 September 2019