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Where do the shimmering northern and southern lights come from?
![3.3.4 Thermosphere - Atmosphere and Climate - [Teachoo] - Concepts](https://cdn.teachoo.com/cd551ab3-1db8-47d2-a2bd-1bcbb105e7a6/fig.-3.4.-aurora-coloured-light-seen-in-the-sky-near-the-poles..jpg)
Thermosphere
Thermo-
Greek for 'heat'
-sphere
a layer
↓
A very hot layer, 80 to 700 km up, where auroras and radio waves occur.
- In the thermosphere , temperature rises rapidly with altitude.
- Gas molecules absorb X-rays and short-wave ultraviolet radiation.
- It extends from 80 to 700 km .
- It helps radio transmission by reflecting radio waves.
- The ionosphere is part of the thermosphere.
- The northern and southern lights, or auroras , occur here.
🌟 FASCINATING FACT
The word ‘aurora’ comes from Latin, meaning ‘dawn’ or ‘morning light’. It is named after the Roman goddess of dawn. The ‘solar wind’ — charged particles from the Sun — is directed towards the magnetic poles. As these particles interact with different atmospheric gases, each gas glows with a particular colour. This is called the
Aurora Borealis
in the Northern Hemisphere and the
Aurora Australis
in the Southern Hemisphere.
