If you live in the GTA, you may have noticed last night’s sky was a little more colourful than usual. That’s due to the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights.
The natural spectacle dazzled many people across North America in the late hours of Oct. 10 and the wee hours of Oct. 11.
Online, people in the GTA and beyond have been sharing the beauty they witnessed in the sky, with many people sharing that it was their first time seeing the natural display.
“The Northern Lights showed up in Southern Ontario and pretty much the rest of the continent last night,” one person posted on X.
“Incredible. Something I never thought I’d see in a million years in southern Ontario. The Northern lights over Lake Ontario,” another person posted.
“Stepped outside my front door just now and went for a walk. It was worth it. Such beauty. Thank you Mother Nature.”
WHAT ARE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS?
While the term northern lights may cause your mind to conjure up images of colourful mirages in the night sky, do you know what causes this beautiful spectacle?
These colourful displays are seen in the northern hemisphere as the result of particles charged by the Sun creating a solar wind, which is redirected around the planet by a shield created by the Earth’s magnetic field.
“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 down towards Earth’s surface along the magnetic field lines,” the Canadian government’s website explains.
We then see auroras happen when these particles come into contact with gasses in the upper atmosphere, creating small flashes that fill the night sky with colourful light. While auroras that happen in the north hemisphere are called aurora borealis, those in the southern hemisphere are called aurora australis.
The dancing effect of the aurora happens when tons of flashes happen in sequence.
The federal government says this natural wonder can be seen almost every night in the northern sky, from August to May. However, aurora borealis is most common near the spring and fall equinoxes.
So, why do we see the lights in northern Canada?
“Because of how space connects down to the ground,” the Canadian Space Agency’s web page explains.
“The part of space where most of the ‘dragging, stretching, and snapping’ happens is connected by magnetic fields down to the north and south ends of Earth. Because of the shape of Earth’s magnetic field, these magnetic field lines create two ovals of aurora around the North and South Poles.”
The colours of the northern lights are determined by various factors, including the makeup of gasses in Earth’s atmosphere, the density of the atmosphere, the amount of energy involved, and the altitude where the aurora happens.
The Canadian government has a plethora of information about the aurora borealis, including how to view the lights and capture good pictures.
