How the Solar Cycle Affects Aurora Borealis

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By Sophia Kaisermann

There is no natural phenomenon quite like the Aurora Borealis. The beauty of the different shades of green, blue, purple, yellow, and red dancing on the night sky is unique and is not found anywhere else. Thousands of people travel around the globe every year to witness this mesmerizing phenomenon. Unfortunately, the solar cycle is affecting the Aurora as this phenomenon depends on it.

Aurora Borealis, also known as the northern lights, is found very north in Earth's Northern Hemisphere, in places such as Iceland, Alaska, Canada, and the Scandinavian countries.They occur when there is a solar flair. Solar flairs release plasma into the solar system. Plasma is one of the states of matter, it is ionized gas and full of charged particles. When the plasma hits the Earth's magnetosphere, which contains charged particles as well, there is a particle reaction. This reaction causes the particles to come down to Earth, where the northern lights appear. The different colors are the result of what chemical elements the plasma collide with. For example, when the solar plasma collides with oxygen, which results on yellows and greens. The reds, purples, and blues are the result of a reaction with nitrogen.

However, the occurrence of solar flairs depends on which phase of the Solar Cycle the sun is. The Solar Cycle is an eleven year interval that represents the sun's activity at its maximum and minimum levels. When the sun activity is at its peaks, solar flairs are more likely to occur, therefore more likely for Auroras to happen. Whereas, when the sun is at its minimum, solar flairs may also happen but Aurora Borealis will only occur closer to the North Pole. 

 
Currently, Solar peaks have been weaker than usual, in fact, they have been weaker than the astronomers had estimated, making it harder to spot the northern lights. Doug Biesecker, a physicist at NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center told Business Insider, "My personal prediction is that, over the next couple of years, we'll see a deep dive of solar activity into solar minimum, and fewer and fewer auroras will be seen." Based on what I have researched about this topic, I agree with him. Scientists have no scientific way to prove that the sun is at its minimum activity; however, the forecast for the next Solar minimum is around 2020 and 2021. I hope that the sun reaches its peaks in the next couple of years (the forecast being 2025), and continues to follow the usual pattern of the Solar Cycle, so that the sky may be lit with these beautiful, colorful lights.


External Links: 

https://phys.org/news/2012-10-science-northern.html

https://www.space.com/northern-lights-auroras-earth-facts.html 

https://www.businessinsider.com/auroras-solar-cycle

http://theconversation.com/dont-panic-the-northern-lights-wont-be-turning-of 

 https://www.theaurorazone.com/are-the-northern-lights-going-to-disappear

https://www.youtube.com/watch 

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