The Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis, better known as the Northern and Southern Lights have always been a topic of discussion. After all, how does this magical explosion of colors light up the sky? We’ve looked into the answer before and found magnetic reconnection was a possible explanation. Theorists started research on magnetic reconnection in 1956. Since then, it has been linked to black holes, pulsars, supernovas, and active galactic nuclei, so it made sense auroras might fit into this group of phenomena. However, new documented studies on auroras have shown that magnetic reconnection may not actually be the cause of these dancing lights. Previous Research Originally, it was thought that auroras were caused by asymmetry from magnetic reconnection. Professor Jan Egedal and his fellow researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison were able to observe that when matter is heated by the sun into a plasmic state, the transition can cause the plasma to give off energy that is “powerful enough to cause different magnetic fields to reconnect.” It was also thought that those newly reconnected magnetic fields were then able to produce extreme amounts of energy that broke the law of physics. These magnetic reconnections,  combined with gases in Earth’s atmosphere, created the lights. Recent Discovery When an aurora lights up the Northern Hemisphere skies, it should happen equally, or appear so, in the Southern Hemisphere since the poles are reflections of each other. Scientists found that when simultaneously comparing images of north and south auroras, this symmetry does not actually happen. In fact, not only are they different shapes, but they appear at different locations around the poles as well. When viewed from space, the Northern lights may appear one way while the Southern lights make completely different movements. These images again bring up the question of why are auroras asymmetric. Current research is saying auroras’ asymmetry happens on its own, and the magnetic reconnection we once thought was the cause actually reduces asymmetry. How Does This Work? Imagine the Sun and Earth’s magnetic fields as a series of invisible and randomly placed lines along their surfaces. Earth has two magnetic poles (north and south) where the invisible lines (magnetic forces) extend out of the north pole and into the south pole. This “protective” barrier that’s created is known as the magnetosphere. Highly excitable particles that are headed towards Earth (solar wind) are sucked into the atmosphere by these invisible lines. When they collide while the atmosphere, energy is released in the form of the colorful auroras we are familiar with. If the magnetosphere matches the north-south orientation of the Sun’s magnetic field, the resulting effects will happen simultaneously around Earth. Basically, when the energetic particles slam into the atmosphere in a north to south orientation, it does so symmetrically, causing the auroras to be symmetric. But, space physicists’ newest imaging has found that when the sun’s magnetic field is heading toward Earth in a more east-west orientation relative to Earth’s magnetic poles, it becomes tilted, which triggers distortions that ultimately produce differently shaped Northern and Southern Lights. This new discovery basically says if the Sun’s magnetic field is oriented east to west relative to Earth’s north to south field, the particles will become twisted when they move across the Earth’s magnetic field, ultimately, causing the auroras to be twisted and asymmetric. While this new discovery puts more emphasis on magnetic field orientations, it doesn’t explain all of the asymmetry possible as auroras are constantly evolving. Read More Magnetic Discoveries with Apex! If you found this article interesting and are into all things space, be sure to read our previous blog post about creating your very own backyard magnetic planetarium! Want to have these exciting discoveries and more sent right to your inbox each month? Subscribe to our newsletter – there are even special discounts for our subscribers.