March — the month Northern lights

March is a great month for viewing the Northern lights. Geleophysic David Hathaway has analyzed 75 years of historical observations, and found that in the months before and after equinox, geomagnetic storms happen twice as often. These data indicate that March can be one of the best months of the year for observation of polar lights.

Researchers have long understood that auroras "like" equinox, but didn't understand why until 10 years ago, NASA launched the THEMIS satellites. In 2007, THEMIS has revealed magnetic "harnesses" that periodically extend from the upper atmosphere of the Earth to the Sun. Along these bundles floating particles solar wind, providing energy for geomagnetic storms and auroras.

It turns out that the most favorable time for the development of whip magnetic "threads" between the sun and the Earth — the spring and autumn. It's simple geometry: when the Earth spins in its orbit, tilted magnetic poles of the Earth changing the angle relative to the Sun, leaning back and forth with a one-year cycle. During the equinoxes the Earth's magnetic field is more "convenient" to connect with the Sun.

Translated by «Yandex.Translator»