Charged Particles A third invisible thing in the space around the Earth is a plasma, made of lots of charged particles. There are always electrons and positive ions in the surrounding magnetic field. Charged particles in a magnetic field move in a special way: they are guided by the field. read more
Auroras are caused by charged solar particles colliding with atoms of oxygen and nitrogen in the ionosphere, which is the highest level of the atmosphere. read more
Acceleration of auroral charged particles invariably accompanies a magnetospheric disturbance that causes an aurora. This mechanism, which is believed to predominantly arise from strong electric fields along the magnetic field or wave-particle interactions, raises the velocity of a particle in the direction of the guiding magnetic field. read more