Auroras from Space (ISS)

Fact number 1

A coronal mass ejection is an ejection of energetic plasma from the Sun that can travel at speeds up to 10 million kilometres an hour.

Fact number 2

Solar storms can disrupt radio transmissions, disable communications satellites, cause GPS systems to malfunction and even lead to power outages like the 1989 blackout in Quebec.

Fact number 3

The solar wind flows from the Sun out into the solar system past Pluto.

Fact number 4

Since the International Space Station orbits at almost the same altitude as the auroras, astronauts on board see auroras at eye level.

Fact number 5

Our atmosphere protects us from solar radiation on Earth, but aircraft crews on transpolar flights and astronauts receive higher doses of radiation during intense solar activity.

Fact number 6

The Earth's magnetic field reaches thousands of kilometres out into space.

Fact number 7

Auroras can also be found on other planets. Jupiter and Saturn both have auroral ovals on both hemispheres. Venus, Uranus and Neptune have irregular auroras.

Fact number 8

Auroras typically occur between 100 and 300 km in the atmosphere, but can sometimes stretch as high as 600 km.

Fact number 9

Launched in 1962, Alouette-1, Canada's first satellite, made our country the third nation in space. Alouette-1 studied the ionosphere, the electrically charged layer of the upper atmosphere that can affect long-distance radio transmission.