This recipe delves into the enchanting world of the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights. Imagine a magical light show in the sky, akin to the vibrant swirls of colorful icing on a beautifully decorated cake or the mesmerizing dance of sugar crystals caramelizing under a blowtorch. The Aurora Borealis is nature’s most dazzling confection, where solar winds and Earth’s magnetic field come together to create a breathtaking display of lights. Read below to uncover the step-by-step “recipe” for this spectacular phenomenon, where particles from the sun interact with our atmosphere to produce ethereal ribbons of color that dance across the night sky. Get ready to be captivated by the geological and atmospheric artistry of the Aurora Borealis, and discover the incredible process that lights up our polar skies!
Aurora Borealis
Temperature
Up to 1727°C
Pressure
Negligible
Size
The Sky
Time
15 minutes-1 hour+
Directions
Step 1
Rotate the planet’s iron core to generate a magnetic field around the planet, a magnetosphere.
Step 2
Blow plasma from the sun toward the planet with solar winds.
Step 3
Form a substorm by mixing the magnetosphere and plasma stream.
– The magnetosphere will slow down the solar winds and energize the plasma.
Step 4
Use the electrons in the plasma to stretch the magnetic field causing it to polarize into lines.
Step 5
Allow the plasma to enter the planet’s upper atmosphere and collide with oxygen and nitrogen gas molecules, splitting them into ions.
– One O2 oxygen becomes two O ions with negative electric charges.
Step 6
Release photons (light rays) from the now energized gas ions.
Step 7
Generate 100 billion photons to see light from the planet’s surface.
– The light’s shape will follow the lines of the magnetosphere in the substorm.
Step 8
Wait up to an hour for the substorm to subside and the aurora borealis to end.
Materials
- Oxygen (O2 form)
- optional-Nitrogen
- Magnetosphere
- plasma (from sun)
Tools
- planet with an iron core
- Solar wind
