Why do aurora lights always occur at and near the poles?

The appearance of the aurora is actually related to the geographical location, and it also has a lot to do with the magnetic field, the two poles of the earth because of the relatively large mass, so it is easier to appear the phenomenon of the aurora, every year there will be many people who run to the determined area **, the beautiful aurora, the reason is that the earth is like a huge magnet, and its magnetic poles are near the north and south poles. The compass we are familiar with is affected by the geomagnetic field, always pointing to the north-south direction, and the flow of charged particles from the sun is also affected by the geomagnetic field, and approaches the north and south poles of the geomagnetic field in a spiral motion. So the aurora mostly appears in the sky near the north and south poles.

What happens in the South Pole is called the Southern Lights, and what happens in the North Pole is called the Northern Lights. Our country is in the northern hemisphere, so in our country you can only see the Northern Lights.

In fact, in layman's terms, the magnetic field of the earth's poles, therefore, particles from the sun are attracted to the near poles, so the aurora can only appear near the north and south poles of the earth.

The cause of the aurora.

Aurora is a process of mass discharge around the Earth. Charged particles from the Sun reach the vicinity of the Earth, and the Earth's magnetic field forces a portion of them to concentrate along the field lines to the north and south poles. When they enter the upper atmosphere of the polar regions, they collide with and excite the atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, producing light that forms the aurora.

Frequently seen in the two ring-shaped zones around 67 degrees north and south latitudes, Fairbanks, Alaska, is known as the "Capital of the Northern Lights" for more than 200 days of the year. So the aurora can only be seen at the north and south poles of the earth.

01 After the high-energy particles emitted by the sun enter the earth's atmosphere, they will be carried by the earth's magnetic field to the north and south poles, and the auroras produced by the collision of these particles with the air will appear at the north and south poles.

Earth's aurora is a phenomenon in which atmospheric particles are excited (or ionized) by high-energy charged particles from the sun (solar wind) that excite (or ionize) molecules or atoms in the upper atmosphere.

Because the high-energy charged particles from the sun will be affected by the earth's magnetic field and concentrate in places with high magnetic field strength, and the earth's magnetic field is the strongest in the poles, and under the action of the earth's magnetic field, these high-energy particles turn to the polar region and excite gas molecules to emit light near the polar region, so the aurora is common in the high magnetic latitude region. Auroras often occur in the range of about 25° to 30° from the magnetic pole, and this nuclear fissure region is called the auroral region. Auroras are not only found on Earth, but also on some other planets in the solar system that have magnetic fields and atmospheres.

The American physicist James Van Allen also said that the Earth is surrounded by two bands of radiation in the shape of doughnuts.

At the same time, this radiation region is exactly where solar particles and cosmic rays are locked by the Earth's magnetic field, and this radiation belt is relatively thin at the north and south poles, but thicker at the equator, mid-latitudes, etc. This means that it is easy to show light at the north and south poles – this is the aurora phenomenon.

What happens in the South Pole is called the Southern Lights, and what happens in the North Pole is called the Northern Lights. Our country is in the northern hemisphere, so in our country you can only see the Northern Lights.