Explain how the northern lights are created

PEORIA (25News Now) – We could have a chance to see the Northern Lights in central Illinois tonight! A severe geomagnetic storm hit Earth this morning. Now we wait for the sun to set so we can see the lights.

The Northern Lights (and Southern Lights) occur when a large amount of mass is ejected from the Sun. Only a small number of these ejections are aimed at Earth, but if they are charged particles, they are racing towards us. They move along Earth's magnetic field lines, which point inward toward the poles.

Once some of these particles enter the atmosphere at the poles, the particles interact with atoms in the upper atmosphere. This causes them to become “energized,” meaning they are in a higher energy state. When the atoms return to their normal state, they release the excess energy as a photon. This is a small bundle of energy that we can see as visible light. During an aurora borealis event, billions of photons are released, allowing us to see the brilliant colors under the right viewing conditions.

Different types of atoms produce different colors of light. Below you will find some examples of these.

To see the Northern Lights, move a person away from city lights in the dark and look north. If your camera or phone has a night mode, this may help you see the lights better. However, given the intensity of this storm, there is a non-zero chance that the lights could be seen with the naked eye.

If you take photos of the Northern Lights tonight, send us your image through our 25News First Alert Weather app!

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