Aurora Borealis is one of the coolest astronomical events that we can see with the naked eye. It makes the sky shine with beautiful colors, and the dawn are just random enough to be exciting events. But they may not be as random as we all think: historical data suggest that Arora Borealis has seasons Where they are more likely to occur than other moments of the year. The spring equinox is one of those moments, and we just entered.
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The idea that Arrora Borealis has “seasons” compiled data By the NASA astrophysicist, Dr. David Hathaway. According to data, the Northern Lights are more likely to present themselves in March, April, September and October. These are the months closest to spring and fall equinoxes – the period of the year when the sun crosses the equator and offers almost equal quantities of daylight to the whole planet.
Hathaway data is the last, but this is not the first. By Earth HeavenAloysius Cortie, an English Jesuit astronomer, published research on the link between the equinoxes and the aurora in 1912. Later, Sydney Chapman and Julius Bartels included the idea of a borealis season of Aurora twice a year in their book in their book Geomagnetismwhich was the de facto manual on the subject for decades.
Find out more: Discover these breathtaking photos of the Northern Lights of Aurora Watchers
This means that more than a century of scientific consensus says that the northern lights are more likely to present themselves in the coming months when we reach the spring equinox, then again in September and October as the seasons change.
Why does Aurora Borealis have seasons?
The key to all this seems to be the functioning of the equinoxes. During the winter and summer months, half of the earth is tilted away from the sun, which makes Aurora Borealis less likely (unless the geomagnetic storm is particularly strong).
“The equinoxes are the transition points between which the hemisphere is tilted towards the sun,” said Shannon Schmoll, director of the ABRAMS PLANETARIUMsaid to Cnet in an email. “At this stage, the terrestrial magnetic field is at a more favorable angle, closer to perpendicular, which allows easier interaction of the solar particles loaded with the magnetic field and the earthly atmosphere.”
Find out more: Why is Aurora Borealis suddenly more frequent?
According to Dr. Schmoll, the magnetic field of the earth has a north and southern pole, like any magnet. The sun does it too. Dr. Schmoll says that science is still determining the details, but in short, the poles of the sun and the earth align better during the equinox, which is conducive to more frequent aurora.
“The relative positions of all the magnetic field lines at that time allow the earth to interact more easily with the solar wind in charge of the sun, which leads to Aurora”, explains Schmoll.
The equinox effect – also known as Russell-McPherron effect – is also entirely separated from the 11 -year -old solar cycle that the sun crosses. Currently, the sun is at its maximum for this cycle, which increases the chances that Earora Boreales appear even more.
The increased activity of the sun and the equinox effect have already been observed recently. At the end of 2024, Aurora Borealis lit the night sky for a large part of September and October, some being visible further in the United States than typical.
