The much anticipated Northern Lights graced the skies above Airdrie on Sunday evening, much to the delight of many.
Last night's display was all the more anticipated because several forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) had predicted geomagnetic storms.
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On Friday, NOAA issued a geomagnetic storm watch from October 4 to October 6, which could produce the northern lights, but unfortunately, the aurora did not appear until Sunday evening.
According to the Canadian Space Agency's (CSA) explanation, when The Sun emits electrons and protons into space, this is called a solar wind. The Earth's magnetic field forms an invisible shield that redirects the solar wind around our planet.
"As Earth's magnetic field protects us from the solar wind, the magnetic field lines are dragged and stretched. They snap back like an elastic band, launching charged particles toward Earth's surface along the magnetic field lines. Auroras occur when these charged particles launched along Earth's magnetic field collide with gases in Earth's upper atmosphere."
The collisions produce 'tiny flashes that fill the sky with colourful light.'
"This light works like a neon lamp or an old cathode ray tube television set. As billions of flashes occur in sequence, the auroras appear to move or "dance" in the sky."
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