Aurora

1. Aurora Core A

2. Preliminary Question Are there color differences between the Northern Lights and Southern Lights when viewed from space, and have they changed over time?

3. Aurora After studying the auroras, which were named after the Roman Goddess of dawn-Aurora, we have learned many things. The auroras have a specific color after which type of gas they encountered. We have learned that auroras are made at the openings of the Earth's magnetosphere at the north and south poles with protons, electrons, and solar wind mixing with gases to create certain colors. They usually appear as arcs, clouds, or streaks in the sky. The auroras can best be seen in the months of October, February, March, April, and December when the lights are at their longest and the sky is dark enough to see the lights. Auroras usually appear 20 degrees away from the poles, and they are seen approximately 25 times a year. They are made of solar wind collisions.

4. Refined Question Are there color differences between the Northern Lights and Southern Lights when viewed from space, and have they changed over time?

5. We will use the Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth as our primary source of image data. • Any other sources of information and data will come from related web sites. • We will target the regions near the upper northern and upper souther latitudes for images, since these are the regions in which the aurora can be seen. • We will seek a minimum of 40 images for our research. • Among the specific pieces of data that we will log from each image will be: image I.D., date, colors, focal length, whether the image is of the Aurora Borealis or Aurora Australis, and general observations. • One question we have is if advances in photographic technology might impact the more recently taken astronaut photographs vs those taken by astronauts many years ago.

6. Hypothesis There are no measurable differences observed between colors seen in the Northern Lights and Southern Lights when viewed from space and when compared over time.

11. From SPACE • Aurora Australis has more colors than Borealis • Could be corrupted because we have less pictures of Borealis viewed from space • There is little to no change in the colors, or shape over time • Our data listed above shows little to no changes as the years progress • So it tells us that the gases, that make the color, haven't changed over time.

12. From EARTH • We are unable to determine if there are color differences over time for the Auroras • Due to the fact that we have no record of the images used by the group who made the ground-based image charts • The most major color differences were that Borealis had more yellow and white • Aurora Australis had more red • This information might be slightly corrupted due to the fact that we only included which had 5 or greater percents when compared to the other • It may also be influence by the fact that Aurora Australis had 33 ground based images and Aurora Borealis had only 28 • This concludes that, from Earth, they appear only slightly different from one another

13. Both • There could have been some misinterpretations due to the fact that some people can see more or less colors in these pictures than from the notes we used • Our research for Aurora from space was limited to what was on the Astronaut Photography website • Our research for Aurora from Earth was limited to photographs online

14. Ionization is the physical process of converting an atom or molecule into an ion by adding or removing charged particles such as electrons or other ions. This is often confused with dissociation excited state The state of an atom when one of its electrons is in a higher energy orbital than the ground state. Atoms can become excited by absorbing a photon of a specific energy, or by colliding with a nearby atom

15. Conclusion Question: Are there color differences between the Northern lights and Southern lights when viewed from space, and have they changed over time? We believe this hypothesis is true, because our research showed no visible signs of color change between the Northern and Southern Lights, from space. There are also no visible changes over time. Hypothesis - There are no measurable differences observed between colors seen in the Northern Lights and Southern Lights when viewed from space and when compared over time.

16. Some Questions We Have Are… • Why can you see more colors from Earth than from Space? • Is this because there might be more chemicals higher up in the sky so they can be seen better from space?

17. (some) Sources Website Brief Summary It tells the best time to watch the aurora It tells how Auroras came to be. What they are and how they are made. It tells the forecasts, the best time to watch the aurora, and that aurora makes no sound I talks about Auroras and the scientific reasons they appear. • http://fairbanks-alaska.com/northern-lights-alaska.htm • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora_(astronomy) • http://www.pfrr.alaska.edu/aurora/index.html • http://www.nasa.gov/worldbook/aurora_worldbook.html

18. We would like to give a big thanks to those who have helped us along the way, thank you Mr. McCollum, and our Mentor Dr. Runco! Thanks For All The Help!!

20. Core A Writers Researchers Alec Alyssa Armani August Bailey Breanna Brooke Caleb Chase Dakota Elizabeth Emily Jonathan Nana Rebecca Sarah Stevie Sydnee Teah Tiffani Tresten Valerie Zachary • Emily • Jordan • Peyton