Instant Genius

The science behind the stunning phenomenon of the Northern Lights


Listen Later

The Northern Lights are surely one of the most awe-inspiring phenomena anyone can be lucky enough to witness occurring on planet Earth. But how exactly do solar winds breezing out of the Sun and hitting our planet’s atmosphere create the enchanting phosphorescent display that dances across the night sky?


In this episode we speak to Tom Kerss an aurora chaser, astronomer and author of the book Northern Lights: The definitive guide to auroras about the science behind the breathtaking phenomenon of the Aurora Borealis.


He tells us how the colours of the Northern Lights are created by particles ejected from the Sun hitting the Earth’s magnetic field, how auroras also exist on other planets within the Solar System and talks us through the many things we can learn from studying this fascinating cosmic phenomenon.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Instant GeniusBy Our Media

  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4

4.4

65 ratings


More shows like Instant Genius

View all
The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,842 Listeners

Science Weekly by The Guardian

Science Weekly

400 Listeners

5 Live Science Podcast by BBC Radio 5 Live

5 Live Science Podcast

110 Listeners

Health Check by BBC World Service

Health Check

86 Listeners

Science In Action by BBC World Service

Science In Action

344 Listeners

Inside Health by BBC Radio 4

Inside Health

84 Listeners

More or Less: Behind the Stats by BBC Radio 4

More or Less: Behind the Stats

901 Listeners

Discovery by BBC World Service

Discovery

953 Listeners

Unexpected Elements by BBC World Service

Unexpected Elements

355 Listeners

All in the Mind by BBC Radio 4

All in the Mind

80 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

403 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

824 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

480 Listeners

The world, the universe and us by New Scientist

The world, the universe and us

114 Listeners

What's Up Docs? by BBC Radio 4

What's Up Docs?

116 Listeners