Program Information

What is the Aurora Borealis?

NASA Kids Science News Network™ is a news-style standards-based program that uses the Web, animation, and video to introduce science, technology, engineering, math, and NASA concepts. NASA's KSNN™ uses animated characters (grades K-2) and Web and video technology (grades 3-5) to explain everyday phenomena of our world, correct misconceptions, and answer frequently asked questions.

Transcript

Hi, I'm William Jeffries with
more science news you can use.

Bet you've never seen anything
like this up in the sky.

Okay, I give up.

What is it?

It's the Aurora Borealis
or Northern Lights,
nature's TV show.

They're mostly seen
in the northern and southern
extremes of the Earth,
someplace like Alaska.

The solar wind brings charged
particles from the Sun,
which strike gases
in the Earth's atmosphere
causing the gases to glow
in different colors.

I've never seen
anything like that.

Well, in a way you have.

The color TV screen
you're looking at right now
glows in bright colors
when a charged particle
touches the chemicals inside.

So the Northern Lights
are kind of like nature's
TV show in the sky.

Until next time,
I'm William Jeffries with
more science news you can use.

Virginia Standards