1. Logan Cropper, Dominic Agneta, and Emily Traugott
Phenomena in the Upper atmosphere
Logan Cropper, Dominic Agneta, and Emily Traugott

2. Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis

3. The cause of Auroras
Solar flares eject a huge quantity of electrons and protons into space, some of which come in contact with Earth
These electrons and protons collide with the molecules and atoms in Earth’s upper atmosphere which causes them to become ionized and electronically excited
Then, when the excited molecules and ions return to their ground state, they emit light which we see as the Auroras.

4. Different molecules and atoms emit different colors of light
Oxygen atoms emit green and red
Nitrogen molecules emit blue and violet
The protons and electrons are oriented by Earth’s magnetic field because of their charge
This causes most of the auroras to be visible only near the poles.
Aurora borealis are near the north pole, and the aurora australis are near the south pole

5. The Shuttle Glow Phenomenon

6. The Mystery Glow of Space Shuttles
Space shuttles in low orbits of Earth can often be observed to give off a sort of orange glow.
This results from a reaction between fast O atoms in the atmosphere and NO compounds collected on the surface of the shuttle.
NO2 gas is formed, and radiates this type of light as it returns to its ground state.

7. The Glow of STS-39
-During the launch of STS-39, the twelfth mission of the Discovery shuttle, samples of NO2, CO2, Xe and Ne were released as part of an experiment on plasmas.
-Additional gases collected on the tail of the shuttle, which resulted in a much more prominent version of the glow effect when the NO2 was released.