Flat-Earthers try to explain what they believe the auroras are

The northern and southern lights, otherwise known as aurora borealis and aurora australis, are some of the greatest natural phenomenon known to man.

The spectacle is a huge tourist attraction for northern European countries like Iceland and Norway due to their close proximity to the north pole, as well as Antarctica, which is part of the south pole.

The poles, which are intrinsic to the Earth's magnetic field, attract solar particles which then mingle with oxygen and nitrogen particles, and then release colourful photons, thus creating the awe-inspiring spectacle.

The colours differentiate depending on what elements the solar particles interact with, and they sway in such a way that is dependent on solar wind particle and the moving magnetic field lines.

However, this poses a problem for some people - the flat-Earthers community. That's because of their bizarre belief that the Earth does not have a north and a south pole and is just a stationary plate with an 'ice wall' on the perimeter, with the sun and moon rotating above us.

We hardly need to go into the problems that would occur if the spherical Earth stopped spinning, but if it did the magnetic field would no longer be generated thus exposing us to the sun's radiation and basically killing every living thing on the planet.

We can safely say that is unlikely to ever happen but if flat-Earthers believe that the planet is motionless and thus without a magnetic field, then how do they explain our continued existence and the auroras?

Well, according to the highly informative flat-Earth Society they are actually a luminous atmoplanic phenomenon that are visible near the 'northern and southern hemidisks.' This is the entire explanation:

On the Flat Earth the Aurora, also commonly referred to as the southern and northern lights, are a luminous atmoplanic phenomenon that generally appear as bright colourful bands of light. Auroras are often visible in the night sky in both the northern and southern hemidisks of the Earth.

Auroras are believed to be caused by charged high energy particles from the solar winds that are trapped within the magnetic field of the Earth. As these charged particles spiral back and forth along the lines of the magnetic field, they become visible nearest to the north and south magnetic poles where these magnetic lines become vertical and interact with the atmoplane of the Earth.

The bright visually pleasing colours commonly associated with auroras are the result of electrons colliding with oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the Earth's atmoplane. As these molecules become energized, then cool from their energized state, they emit actual light that can be seen by the naked human eye.

Auroras, both the northern and southern lights, can most frequently and easily be seen during the winter months within a 2500 km radius of the vertical magnetic field lines. This area is also known as the auroral zone.

I mean this makes no sense whatsoever and just sounds like what the northern and southern lights are anyway, but you've gotta hand it to these flat-Earthers - they really do have an explanation for everything, just like Principal Skinner.

HT IFL Science

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