What manages to create light during an aurora event?

An aurora event, such as the aurora borealis or aurora australis, is primarily caused by collisions between charged particles from the solar wind and atoms in the Earth’s atmosphere. When these high-energy particles, mostly electrons and protons, travel towards the Earth, they interact with gas molecules, particularly oxygen and nitrogen, at high altitudes.

As the charged particles collide with atmospheric atoms, they transfer energy to these atoms, which can cause the atoms to become excited. When the excited atoms return to their normal state, they release energy in the form of light. This process is akin to the way a neon sign works: when electricity excites the gas within the sign, it emits a colorful glow.

The other options do not directly create light during an aurora. While heat from the planet's core plays a significant role in geological activity and the climate, it does not directly relate to the formation of auroras. Reflections from the planet's surface do not produce the colorful light associated with auroras; rather, they might affect the visibility of auroras when viewed from certain locations. Radiation emitted from the sun contributes to the solar wind, which is a necessary component for aurora formation, but it is the subsequent interactions in the