What Creates the Colors in the Northern Lights? - Causes of the Aurora Colors Explained

Learn What Creates the Colors in the Northern Lights as we break down a little bit of the science behind those awesome Auroras.
From greens, to pinks and purples, to red, and even yellow and orange, we see an array of colors displayed in the Northern Lights. Over the years, we've seen nearly every color you might imagine in the Aurora. And one of the most common questions we get, is what creates those colors we see and photograph in the Northern Lights? We break it all down so by the end of this video, you'll have an understanding of what causes those aurora colors as well.
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:44 What Causes the Northern Lights
1:20 What Creates the Colors in the Northern Lights
1:47 Earth's Atmospheric Composition
2:56 Green Auroras
3:45 Pink, Purple, Magenta Auroras
4:55 Red Auroras
7:12 Sunlit, Blue Aurora
7:59 Stages of Twilight
8:45 Other Colors in the Northern Lights
9:20 Coming Up
If you would like to see and photograph the Northern Lights in all their splendid color, join us for an adventure you'll never forget. www.TheAuroraChasers.com
Special Thanks to our Dear friend and greatest mentor, Neal Brown. Without his amazing love for sharing science, we wouldn't have the knowledge to share with others.
#NorthernLights #Aurora #TheAuroraChasers #Colors

[@TheAuroraChasers]

Thanks for watching everyone! :-) This video was a labor of love and took far more work than we imagined when we started creating it. But, it's the video we wish had existed before we started. If you enjoyed and got value from this video, please leave a comment and give it a thumbs up. If you hated it, give it a thumbs down and leave a comment letting us know what we could do better. If you're new around here, please consider subscribing and do explore this channel for even more content about those magical Northern Lights.

[@EnungKartini-nk5bt]

Thank jakjub ..

[@lindaadem7037]

Yes I saw last night the color is reddish gray with purple and little bit pink

[@micdrop-jh3pf]

Last night's aurora in Montana was amazing. We saw lots of red and I had no idea how rare that was. Also, 3/4 of the sky was filled with light at one point with beautiful teals and greens in large streams across a dome of sky. It was my second aurora and a KP of 9. I feel blessed! Beautiful. I see why people spend so much time chasings these wonders. Thanks for the video.

[@mattsmash93]

Well, my first time seeing the Northern lights was tonight in Alabama, and I saw purple, green and red.

[@andrewbrown6522]

Im seeing reds in alberta..

[@reka-agotakvalsund2875]

Yesterday evening (30.11.22) I say ( stood right under) a beautiful northern light - both green and blue-indigo lights. In the western part of Norway. I was (and still am) in aw🤩🤩🙌

[@shrooman777]

Wanted to learn more after the amazing display yesterday that so many people around the world saw. This was really really helpful, thank you! To know how rare it is to see all the colors together makes it even more special.

[@efleishermedia]

Even when the magenta light is faint those flashes are the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed, bar none. Life changing.

[@Ruthie2591]

I thank you so much for your explanation on the different colors seen of the northern lights. I knew the cause of the Auroras was from sun flares from the surface of the sun flinging gases that were attracted to our magnetic poles… and I did assume the colors were from the different gases hitting our upper atmosphere but I never knew more. I lived in Northern Alberta, within 100 miles of Grande Prairie and/or Northern Ontario, Moosonee to be exact from 1972 - 1990. I lived in very remote areas in both Provinces so there was total absence of ambient light in the winter nights. I now live in Southern Mississippi and with the help of the internet I occasionally view videos of the Northern Lights. I happily happened upon your video with a basic explanation of the various colors seen. My son recently sent me photos of the Northern Lights taken from Lake Athabasca in far Northern Saskatchewan this Spring and in one photo the Lights were bright red with some green.. now I know one reason they were red was because they were seen in the late Spring. I look forward to following you in the future and learning more. Thanks so much.

[@sweetmagicalbaby]

Ronn you and your website is such a treasure to the world!

[@TheAuroraChasers]

Thank you so much for the kind words! :-)

[@namanemaman]

It was amazing! thanks for useful information!❤

[@jamiepardau3962]

This is a masterpiece! So easy to understand and the animations are wonderful!

[@TheAuroraChasers]

Mahalo Jamie! Appreciate the comment and glad you enjoyed it! :-)

[@Justsomeoneyoucouldhaveknown]

You mentioned that we don't normally see red Arora's. That got me thinking. We humans only see a fraction of a fraction of the visible spectrum. Is there other wavelengths that humans don't see being produced? Like if we had a camera/sensor/detector that looked for ultraviolet or inferred or x-rays or something would we see similar displays

[@melissajade7717]

Amazing explanation. I'm doing a presentation on this topic this week so your expertise on the subject really helped by going in depth on what truly causes all those rare colors.

[@ReverendPop]

Promises not to get too far into aurora science Proceeds to explain it all in detail

[@TheAuroraChasers]

If you think that's in depth, you might be in for a surprise.... ;-)

[@funhere1]

Don’t forget to include the Aurora Australis sometimes, like in every other video, it’s lonely down there.

[@TheAuroraChasers]

No doubt. I should note that I use the term Auroras to cover both the Southern and Northern Lights. They are after all mirrors of one another and the same Aurora. But I should probably mention that. I'll be sure to not leave you out in the video explaining what causes the Auroras.

[@theaveragenick5554]

I love this. I saw them for the first time a couple weekends ago in Wisconsin and was fortunate to see the red as well as get some great photos of them.

[@TheAuroraChasers]

Very cool!

[@MountainRaven1960]

Thank you for this. You answered my questions.

[@irmamalfavon1720]

Thank you so much for your explanation, was easy to understand it.

[@jtcmedia349]

Great video! Very interesting to learn about what makes all those different colors

[@Pianomam]

Great video as always, Ronn, thanks!

[@TheAuroraChasers]

Thank you so much Debbie! Much appreciated. :-)

[@mendyboio3917]

Love the sound effects and the excellent tutorial; thank you!

[@TheAuroraChasers]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@arreltidwell7118]

Found your channel today. Seeing the Northern Lights, on a visit to Alaska is high on my bucket list. I look forward to seeing more of your future and past videos. (P.S. We live near Birmingham, Alabama)

[@TheAuroraChasers]

Thanks Arrel! Look forward to seeing you both here on the channel and in Alaska at some point. After exploring, let us know if there is anything you'd like to see covered in a future video. :-)

[@Josie42000]

I just found you!! And I’m so happy I did. I live in central BC Canada and for the past three nights have been enjoying spectacular displays! The beauty takes my breath away! I saw green and some purple. Some very strong white swooches. Can’t wait to watch more of your videos.

[@TheAuroraChasers]

Correct. They don't always move fast but they do on occasion. The reason for so much time-lapse is that until the recent tech, we couldn't capture them in real-time.

[@milafrommanila2600]

Youre such an amazing person, you share your knowledge about Aurora, you patiently gives us the information generously. Good job! God bless your journey!

[@TheAuroraChasers]

Thank you so much for the kind words Mila. So lovely to hear that folks appreciate our efforts. :-)

[@ExplorewithChoo]

Great video! Thanks! I’ve been lucky to see the aurora twice this year. I saw the green and yellow maybe a bit of purple though that could have been the purple night sky. I would love to see reds and blues. Some people say they photograph STEVE. Can you please tell us more about that? Thanks for creating this awesome series.

[@Sturzflicks]

Waiting patiently to see a decent Aurora down here in Tasmania. Also I do enjoy your videos.

[@TheAuroraChasers]

It's a long wait this time of year. ;-) And thank you! Appreciate the comment and feedback. We'll keep some videos coming to hold you over.

[@andrewbrown6522]

Seeing reds tonight. Have never seen that before. Pretty wild. Started thinking oxygen is the only thing that burns red and figured id look it up. Am i correct in understanding that ozone would be a byproduct?

[@micdrop-jh3pf]

I saw lots of red auroras here in Montana last night too. I didn't realize how special they were until I viewed this video.

[@artbrown3309]

Great job! 👍 Like the jumping molecules😉. Now you can add the videos to your actual tours so you can save your voice for questions afterwards.

[@TheAuroraChasers]

Thanks Art! Very much appreciate the feedback and yes, this will find it's way into our tour presentations. At least portions of it. I worked way too hard on some of these graphics to never use them again. Lol

[@rickreding4025]

@@TheAuroraChasers Ask God to reveal the truth to you. The Aurora Borealis are eminating from God's throne.

[@Geradori32]

Hello there. Thank you dearly for the easy explained things. Though, could I ask for your opinion on why sometimes the Aurora shows off pretty saturated yellow and orange(even clearly visible with the naked eyes) at the very bottom(near horizon)? Saw it few times an hour after sunset(civil). Thank you in advance.

[@MiriamMonroe]

The Aurora Borealis is explained in Enoch 23 but is also more explicitly called by its color in Revelation where it actually says, "..There's a rainbow around His Throne in sight like unto an emerald." Amen Revelation 4:2-3

[@TheAuroraChasers]

Not sure that's an explanation, but it's neat to know.

[@rickreding4025]

@@TheAuroraChasers it is eminating from God's throne. nasa is lying trying to hide God.

[@rickreding4025]

@ In the garden You are 💯 correct.

[@rickreding4025]

@Bomboy Fred you are 💯 correct

[@santiagoricamonte1229]

I like it.

[@prestonprice6513]

Quick Question, I Am Currently 17 And I'm Planning on Moving to Fairbanks AK When I Graduate From Trade School. I Was Wondering On When The Aurora Light Season Starts And Ends?

[@holgerjrgensen2166]

So, this is about the Stuff-side, physics of Aurora, the Live-side of Aurora, is korrespondance with other Planet-Being, I cant say exactly, but about 50% of earth-quakes and volcano-eruptions, also have to do with korrespondance, among Macro-beings. Rainbow mirror our Consciousness, colors show our Eternal set of Abilities, but it might be to early to conclude or read the Meaning through the dynamic compositions of the colors. A Highly developed Intuition is necessary to really understand. Instinct, Gravity, Feeling, Intelligence, Intuition, Memory, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo.

[@welcometogreenaquasglen1846]

I hope to see the Northern Lights, in the Yukon. If and when I do, I hope they have some purple or blue, as well as green.

[@clancyjames585]

You mention the interaction between likely colours and the power/speed of the solar wind. Can you give us some hints on how to predict the upcoming aurora colours from space weather monitoring services?

[@TheAuroraChasers]

Great question! We’ll try to cover this in a future video.

[@RIZFERD]

Me = Purple (Birth) + Green (Personality)

[@EnungKartini-nk5bt]

Wow kereen takjub liat ciptaan alloh ...

[@philipxxxdj]

Theres purple auora right now in Denmark where i live

[@juanagranados537]

blue

[@lorddeath6300]

So that story my friend told me about seeing red green and yellow colours in northern lights was true then huh he told me it kinda looked like Jamaican colours

[@deemisquadis9437]

They are not high. They can only be seen at that high. But they go through the entire earth and everything on it.

[@flordelizazabala2349]

why aurora boreales cannot be seen in other countries?

[@terrymartin6384]

😇

[@jessicastrohschein9597]

💕❤️🧡💛💚💙💟

[@ariaden]

The lecture: This video. The exam question: As both the green light and the red light are emitted by atomic oxygen, explain why there is (almost) no green light coming from above 200 kilometers. (Tools like calculators, AI chatbots, and Internet search are all allowed.)

[@geetpawar7123]

I hello sir

[@abacus749]

1.50mins re The earth's atmosphere that you and I breathe is about 80% Nitrogen and 20% Oxygen. To breathe an atmosphere of 100% Oxygen for one week as on the Apollo 11 mission would result in death.

[@deemisquadis9437]

Different measures of radiation. Gamma, uv, and many others, the sun shooting radiation at us. We are being conditioned by the sun. For the evolution of mankind. This is a grand event. ❤

[@Shadoweknows76]

I see actual living beings of light and they travel through the lights. They watch you watch them and its creepy sometimes. Watchers. Trying to explain what life's light beings are cracked me up. "The centrifical forces against the wind's, causing atoms to collide" 😂 wind's are alive too along with the clouds that carry on them. Lighting has eyes as well. Before you laugh, I have proof. Our creator told us about this in the book of Enoch, thats how I found lightning coming from the eyes of a being. He created them. 2nd Enoch 20:3 is our true creators name. God of the Bi Baal bibell is lucifer 💯 facts. He's the father of all lies and this is just one of those lies about our world and what it's really made from. Hail Zeus bright Mourning star lucifer ✡️ his number is 6ptx6&6 point star fallen from heaven and all stars are fallen angels. The Watchers are real.

[@Shadoweknows76]

Atom and particles made from living beings

[@BonestheOfficial]

Enoch is the key, God bless you. It amazes me how people disregard certain people in history but accept some

[@BonestheOfficial]

@@Shadoweknows76👌🏾

[@maxxibro]

Not true, today in New Zealand's night we have red aurora and it is visible for the whole New Zealand sky. I was able to see it in my life time with naked eyes. I also took some pictures and videos on my phone.

[@Astro-X]

What do you mean not true?

[@micdrop-jh3pf]

I saw the red colors with my unaided eyes as well. You need to keep in mind that what we are seeing this weekend (5/2024) is not a common occurrence. This geomagnetic storm has a rating of G4 which is the second strongest storm of its kind. So, what they stated in the video is true, and we should consider ourselves fortunate.