The document discusses the northern lights and the space weather phenomena that causes them, including solar wind and magnetic substorms. Solar wind interacts with Earth's magnetic field and can cause magnetic substorms, which are disruptions that produce the colorful northern lights seen in the sky. The Themis NASA project studies these interactions and space weather to better understand the relationship between the sun and Earth's magnetosphere.

1. Illuminating the Northern Lights
Worksheet

3. Name:
_________________________
_ Date: ____________
Period: _____

5. the Northern Lights” on the
Atmosphere page of the website
(web.me.com/davgen1/ILS_12-
22) and answer the following
questions:

7. Record the colors you see.

10. Do researchers today
understand what causes the
northern lights and how they
work?

15. Describe the shape of Earth’s
magnetic field.

20. What is solar wind? In what
ways does it impact Earth?

27. What are magnetic substorms?

33. What kind of problems can
these magnetic substorms
cause?

39. Dr. Vassilis Angelopoulos is
responsible for the NASA
project Themis. What isThemis?

44. What is the purpose of Themis?

50. What is the difference
between space weather and
atmospheric weather?