An aurora (pl. aurorae or auroras) is a natural light display in Earth's upper atmosphere caused by charged particles from the Sun colliding with atoms in the atmosphere. These collisions excite oxygen and nitrogen, which then emit light of different colors such as green, red, and purple. When observed in high-latitude regions they are called polar lights and aurora polaris. In the Arctic they are called the northern lights or aurora borealis; in the Antarctic, the term southern lights or aurora australis is used. Auroras display dynamic patterns of radiant light that appear as curtains, rays, spirals or dynamic flickers covering the entire sky. Auroras are the result of disturbances in the Earth's magnetosphere caused by enhanced speeds of solar wind from coronal holes and coronal mass ejections. These disturbances alter the trajectories of charged particles in the magnetospheric plasma. These particles, mainly electrons and protons, precipitate into the upper atmosphere (thermosphere/exosphere).
Bell Homestead National Historic Site
Alexander Graham Bell made the world's first long-distance telephone call from his father's homestead in Tutela Heights, just minutes from West Brant. The Bell Homestead National Historic Site preserves the farmhouse and coach house where Bell conducted his early telephone experiments in the 1870s. Open seasonally for tours.
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