Public Awareness e-NewsletterKudankulam Nuclear Power Project

February 2018 Issue – 68

Dear Readers,The outreach activities in February 2018 has beenimpressive and about 18000 students and generalpublic visited the KKNPP pavilion at Nellai bookfair 2018 solely. Happy read on…

Source: en.wikipedia.org

-Chairm an, PA Com m it tee

Scientific classificationKingdom: Animalia Phylum: ChordataClass: AvesOrder: BucerotiformesFamily: UpupidaeGenus: Upupa

Species: Upupa epops

Binomial name:Upupa epops

In this issue:

Photography by K.B.Jashi, OIC, TLD Lab, KKNPP

Public voiceTechnical session

Nuclear Database

Nuclear NewsNuclear Slogan

PA activity during the month

Feature article

Nuclear Trivia

Lexicon

No.of units of electricity generated

24,335Million Units

Total CO2 emissions avoided by KKNPP

20,903,419Tonnes

Note: Average lifecycle GHG emissions for Coal &Nuclear is 888 & 29 (tonnes/GWh) respectively.

Climate change is the foremost globalenvironmental issue today. Nuclear power isone of the low carbon technologies that cancontribute to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions (mostly CO2) while generatingelectricity for growing populations andsocioeconomic development. KKNPPscontribution in preventing the CO2 emissions tillnow (As on Feb 28, 2018) is given below.

Spotlight of February 2018

KKNPP ‘s contribution to climate change mitigation A glimpse of Hoopoe at

TLD Lab, KKNPP

1

2

1,24,327 PA Publications distributed3

2,308 hours of PublicOutreach, reaching 22,195 people

23 on-site & 11 Off-site outreachprogramme organised

Nuclear capacity will reach 22,480 MW

by 2031

“There has been a 50 percent increase in nuclearpower capacity additionfrom 4,780 MW in 2014to 6,780 MW with thecompletion ofKudankulam NuclearPower Plant(KKNPP1&2). Ninereactors are underconstruction which willfurther augment capacityby 6,700 MWe. Oncompletion of projectsunder construction andsanctioned, capacity willreach 22,480 MW by2031 – about 5 times thecapacity of 4,780 MW in2014.

There has been recordgeneration of14252 Crore Units ofcommercial electricitygeneration (147090million units, includinginfirm power) during2014-15 to 2017-18 (upto January 2018).”

Sh S K SharmaCMD, NPCIL

(Source: www.domain-b.com dated Feb 17,2018)

Page 2 of 18

Site visit commences witha structured lectureprogramme for about twohours on nuclear energy &safety features of KKNPPwith relevance to theevents at Fukushima andalso addresses the queriesmainly related toprotection of marineorganism and handling ofwaste. They are then takento Model room forfamiliarization of sitelayout, simulator facility tovisualize the functioningof safety systems andhealth physics trainingfacility to understand theconcept of radiation safetyduring normal operation& abnormal situation.Subsequently they aretaken to the Intakestructure and Desalinationplant. This programmeconcludes with a feedbacksession. Two of thefeedback received fromthe visitors are given inthis section.

Public Voice

Page 3 of 18

NPCIL Mission:To develop nuclear powertechnology and to produceNuclear Power as asafe, environmentally benignand economically viablesource of electrical energy tomeet the increasing needs ofcountry.

Technical session - VVER Technology

”The Darlingtonrefurbishment wouldensure that "reliable"nuclear energy continuedto be the "backbone" ofthe province's generationfleet.Our nuclear generatingstations provide low-costelectricity, paramount tojob creation and economicgrowth, whilesimultaneously allowingthe province to continue tooffset harmful greenhousegas emissions"

Use of Indian construction materials in civilConstruction:

Continued …

Source: S.K. Agrawal et al. (The VVERs at KudanKulam) www.sciencedirect.comGlenn Thibeault

Minister of Energy, Ontario (source: www.world-nuclear-news.org,

www.energy.gov.on.ca

The civil engineering design of the KKNPP is carried out asper Russian standards, norms and design practices usingIndian construction material as far as possible. As the civilconstruction work was under the scope of the Indian side,special efforts were put to find out equivalent Indianmaterials satisfying the specifications of the Russiandesigners.

Green light for next Darlington

refurbishment Reinforcement steel:

Two grades ofreinforcementsteel areproduced inIndia. They areclassified as Fe415 and Fe 500grade. In orderto draw a

Ingredients of concrete:The characteristics of the various ingredients of concreterequired as per Russians norms were studied using availablelocal ingredients, such assand, water, cement, aggregate, etc. It was ensured that theconcrete mix ingredients satisfied all the Russianrequirements.

material equivalence, the yield strength, rupture strengthand other chemical composition of these grades werecompared with that of Russian grade steels classified as AIIIand A 500 S. The Indian steel grades were found acceptableand are being used in the construction.

Source: ww

w.outokum

pu.com

Page 4 of 18

Regional Distribution of Nuclear Power Plants:

1011 MW(e), PWR, Model: VVER V320 RUSSIA on 2 February Construction Start Date: 16 Jun 2010First Criticality Date: 29 Dec 2017First grid connection: 02 Feb 2018

New connections to the grid: (Year 2018)

Source: https://www.iaea.orgUpdated as on March 08, 2018

Current Status:

449

392 610 MWe

56

NUCLEAR POWER REACTORSIN OPERATION

TOTAL NET INSTALLEDCAPACITY

NUCLEAR POWER REACTORSUNDER CONSTRUCTION

Country No. of Reactors MWe

ARGENTINA 3 1633ARMENIA 1 375BELGIUM 7 5918BRAZIL 2 1884BULGARIA 2 1926CANADA 19 13554CHINA 39 34444CZECH REPUBLIC 6 3930FINLAND 4 2769FRANCE 58 63130GERMANY 7 9515HUNGARY 4 1889INDIA 22 6240IRAN 1 915JAPAN 42 39752KOREA REPUBLIC 24 22494MEXICO 2 1552NETHERLANDS

1 482PAKISTAN 5 1318ROMANIA 2 1300RUSSIA 36 27153SLOVAKIA 4 1814SLOVENIA 1 688SOUTH AFRICA 2 1860SPAIN 7 7121SWEDEN 8 8629SWITZERLAND 5 3333TAIWAN, CHINA

6 5015UKRAINE 15 13107UK 15 8918USA 99 99952Total 449 392610

17 494REACTOR-YEARS OFOPERATION

Nuclear Database

ROSTOV-4

www.world-nuclear-news.org

Page 5 of 18

Air pollution may lead to unethical behaviour: Study Feb 08

Nuclear News

Norman fusion device reaches 'long enough' milestone Feb 09

25-year study shows sea level rise is accelerating Feb 13

Third round of thorium testirradiation starts Jan 31

Source: www.world-nuclear-news.org

The irradiation of two fuel pinscontaining thorium-plutoniumoxide pellets is under way at theHalden research reactor inNorway. Thor Energy - which isleading the consortium carryingout the research - said this isthe start of the third phase of afive-year trial-operation ofthorium-based nuclear fuels.

The researchers calculated thatthe rate of sea level rise isaccelerating by about 0.08 mmper year. If left unchecked, thattrend could mean the seaswould rise by at least 10 mmper year by the end of thecentury, which would wreakplenty of havoc on the world'scoastal cities. This acceleration,driven mainly by acceleratedmelting in Greenland andAntarctica, has the potential todouble the total sea level riseby 2100

Source: https://newatlas.com

Exposure to air pollution, evenimaginative, may lead to unethicalbehaviour such as crime andcheating, according to a studyconducted on adults in India and theUS. The findings published in thejournal Psychological Science suggestthat this association may be due, atleast in part, to increased anxiety. "Our findings suggest that airpollution not only corrupts people's health, but also can contaminatetheir morality," said Jackson G Lu, behavioural scientist at ColumbiaBusiness School in the US.The researchers found that cities with higherlevels of air pollution also tended to have higher levels of crime.

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Russian icebreaker beats record for nuclear propulsion plant longevity Feb 17

The nuclear-propelledicebreaker Vaygach is nowdistinguished as having thelongest-operating power planton a civilian ship, the operatingcompany reported. TheVaygach was built in Finland in1989 and was fitted with a KLT-40M nuclear reactor the sameyear at the Baltic Shipyard inSt. Petersburg. The pressurized water reactor was initially rated for100,000 hours of work, but sound engineering and proper maintenanceallowed its safe lifetime to be doubled. The 21,000-ton ship is part of atwo-vessel class along with its sister ship, the Taymyr. The reactor usedby both ships was first tested by the nuclear-powered container shipSevmorput, while its latest version is used by the AkademikLomonosov, a floating nuclear power plant currently in construction.

Source: www.rt.com

TAE Technologies, theCalifornia, USA-based fusionenergy technology company,has announced that itsproprietary beam-driven field-reversed configuration (FRC)plasma generator has set anew company record for

plasma temperature. After more than 4000 experiments to date, thegenerator 'Norman' has now exceeded the capabilities and performanceof the company's previous FRC plasma generator, C-2U. "Thisannouncement is an important milestone on our quest to deliver world-changing clean fusion energy to help combat climate change andimprove the quality of life for people globally," TAE President and CTOMichl Binderbauer said

Source: http://www.world-nuclear-news.org

Page 6 of 18

As a part of Public Awareness programme, Students and staff ofSchools and Colleges and public from Tirunelveli, Tuticorin andKanyakumari districts and also from Kerala state visited KKNPP Site.They were familiarized with the nuclear power plant and Safetyfeatures of KKNPP in particular reference to the events at Fukhushima(Japan) and radiation safety during normal and abnormal operation ofNuclear power plant.

Climate change isprimarily a problem of toomuch carbon dioxide(CO2) in theatmosphere. This carbonoverload is caused mainlywhen we burn fossil fuelslike coal, oil and gas orcut down and burnforests.

Nuclear Slogan

PA activity conducted at KKNPP SiteAt

site

Source: www.ucsusa.org

CO2 sticks around

CO2 remains in theatmosphere longer thanthe other major heat-trapping gases emitted asa result of humanactivities.It takes about a decade

for methane (CH4)emissions to leave theatmosphere (it convertsinto CO2) and about acentury for nitrous oxide(N2O).After a pulse of CO2 is

emitted into theatmosphere, 40% willremain in theatmosphere for 100 yearsand 20% will reside for1000 years, while thefinal 10% will take 10,000years to turn over.

Source: https://blog.greencarrier.com

5

3

4

2

8

1

285

190

78

71

351

20

1927

864

516

710

3510

200

Engineering College

Polytechnic College

Public

School

Science College

Management Education

1 10 100 1000 10000

Program organised No.of Participants Publications distributed

Page 7 of 18

Students and staff from P.A.C.Ramasamy Raja Polytechnic College,

Rajapalayam, Virudhunagar(03.02.2018)

At site

Few glimpses from Site Visit

Members from Rotary west Madurai

Samuel Polytechnic College, Mudivaithanendal, Tuticorin

Students and staff fromKongunadu College of Engg &

Technology, Trichy(09.02.2018)

Sri Kumara Gurupara SwamigalArts College, Srivaikundam,

Tuticorin (15.02.2018)

Feb 02, 2018

Feb 06, 2018

Students and staff from Veltech Engineering College, Avadi, Chennai

Feb 07, 2018

Family members from State

Bank of India, AVTS

(09.02.2018)

Page 8 of 18

Vivekananda Arts College, Agasteeswaram,

Kanyakumari(15.02.2018)

At site

Few glimpses from Site Visit

Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi, Virudhunagar

Arasan Ganesan Polutechnic College, Sivakasi, Virudhunagar

St.AloysiusHSS, Veddurnimadam,

Nagercoil, Kanyakumari(16.02.2018)

Wild Life Institute of India, Dehradun

(19.02.2018)

Feb 13, 2018

Feb 17 2018

Thamirabharani Engineering College, Thachanalloor, Tirunelveli

Feb 19, 2018

Best School,

Karungal, Kanyakumari

(16.02.2018)

Rohini College of Engineering & Technology, Paulkulam, Kanyakumari

Feb 14, 2018

Page 9 of 18

NIFS Nagrcoil, Kanyakumari (21.02.2018)

At site

Few glimpses from Site Visit

Vivekananda College of Arts & Science for women, Namakkal

S.T.Hindu College, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari

Students and staff fromV.V.Vanniaperumal College for Women, Virudhunagar

(23.02.2018)

Photo & Videographers Welfare Association,

Kanyakumari (24.02.2018)

Feb 20, 2018

Feb 21, 2018

S.S.Duraisamy Nadar Mariammal College, Kovilpatti, Tuticorin

Feb 28, 2018

Students and staff from Sri Paramakalyani College,

Alwarkurichi, Tirunelveli (23.02.2018)

Ayya Nadar Janaki Ammal College, Sivakasi, Viruthunagar

Feb 27, 2018

Page 10 of 18

LMFBRNuclear

Terminology

More on LMFBR

Lexicon

LMFBR is an acronym for Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactorcooled with liquid metal. A liquid metal fast breeder reactoris so named because during conversion of the fertile materialinto fissile material use is made of high-energy ("fast")neutrons and the coolant employed is sodium, whichremains in the liquid state ("liquid metal") at the prevailinghigh working temperatures.

Source: http://www.ati.ac.at & Wikipedia , www.iaea.org

This is a reactor design that is cooled by liquid metal, totallyunmoderated, and produces more fuel than it consumes. They aresaid to "breed" fuel, because they produce fissionable fuel duringoperation because of neutron capture. These reactors can functionmuch like a PWR in terms of efficiency, and do not require muchhigh-pressure containment, as the liquid metal does not need to bekept at high pressure, even at very high temperatures. BN-350 and BN-600 in USSR and Superphénix in France were a reactor ofthis type, as was Fermi-I in the United States.

Core and Blanket :The LMFBR core is composed of two parts: core and blanket. Thefission process takes place in the core volume. Extra neutronsdiffusing out from the core are absorbed in a material (depleted U-238) surrounding the core which is called the radial blanket. In thevertical direction escaping neutrons are absorbed in the verticalblanket. This material is directly incorporated into each fuel rodabove and below the fuel region (depleted U-238).

LMFBR Basics

A fast breeder reactor canconvert Uranium-238 intoPlutonium-239 at a ratefaster than it consumes itsfuel (mixture of U-235 plusPu-239)

By repeated recycling of thefuel, it should be realisticallypossible to exploit 50% of thefuel value of the uraniumfeed.

This means that fastreactors could extend theenergy output from theworld's uranium fuelreserves about 25 fold.

LMFBR have been of one oftwo designs:

Loop type, in which theprimary coolant is circulatedthrough primary heatexchangers outside thereactor tank (but insidethe biological shield)Pool type, in which theprimary heat exchangersand pumps are immersed inthe reactor tank

Fast breeder reactors makemore effective use of existingnatural uranium resources(including depleted uraniumfrom enrichment plants) andof the plutonium produced inthermal reactor fuel.

Page 11 of 18

Date Organisation No of participants

Publications distributed

Feb 9 Sermathai Vasan College For women, Madurai 150 250

Feb 3 - 11 Nellai Book Fair Festival - 2018 18000 96800Feb 13 National College of Engineering 200 -

Feb 14 Seminar on Nuclear Energy at Govt. Arts College, Chidambaram 250 1000

Feb 16 Karpakam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore 250 -

Feb 18 National Institute of Technology, Calicut, Kerala 200 -

Feb 19 Malankara Catholic College 150 300Feb 21 Sree Iyappa College 200 200

Feb 24 Thirukural Awareness programme, St.Andrews School, Radhapuram 450 5250

Feb 27-28 Womens Christian College, Nagercoil, KK Dist. 1200 12800

Feb 28 Rohini College of Engineering, Anjugramam, KK Dist 150 -

Total 21200 116600

As a part of PAoutreachactivity, Seminars, Workshop, Lectures andExhibitions wereconducted atEducationalInstitutions andOrganisations.

Outside KKNPP

PA outreach programme conducted outside KKNPP:

National seminar on

“Recent trends in Physics”

was organised at Sermathai

Vasan College For

women, Madurai.

Shri P.Pandaram, Scientific

Officer-G, TLD lab &

Member Secretary, Public

awareness

committee, KKNPP

participated as Chief Guest

and delivered a lecture on

Nuclear Energy. Atotal of

150 students participated

during the programme

Date: Feb 09, 2018

PA lecture at Sermathai Vasan College For women, Madurai

PA lecture at Sermathai Vasan

College For women, Madurai

Page 12 of 18

Few glimpses Outside KKNPP

PA exhibition At Nellai Book Fair 2018 at Tirunelveli during Feb 3-11, 2018

National Book Trust andthe Tirunelvei districtadministration organisedthe nine-day Nellai Book Fair– 2018 at VOCground, Palayamkottai,Tirunelveli.

As many as 110 stalls wereset up in the fair. KKNPP alsoestablished a pavilion duringthe fair to demotrate theimpartance of NuclearEnergy for the developmentof the country and the safetyfeatures of KKNPP.

Duration: Feb 03-11, 2018

PA exhibition at NellaiBook Fair

2018

Page 13 of 18

Few glimpses Outside KKNPP

PA exhibition at NellaiBook Fair

2018

PA exhibition At Nellai Book Fair 2018 at Tirunelveli during Feb 3-11, 2018

No.of visitors 18000Publications distributed 96800

Leading publishinghouses in Tamil andEnglish had set up stallsand displayed more than10 lakh books in the fairheld from the February 3to 11. The fair witnesseda footfall of more than 2lakh. This included morethan 40,000 school andcollege students.

PA lecture at National College of Engineering, Maruthakulam, Tirunelveli on Feb 13, 2018

Sh R SureshKumar, Scientific Officer-G, KKNPP participated asChief Guest during asymposium at NationalCollege ofEngineering, Tirunelvelion Feb 13, 2018 anddelivered a lecture onNuclear Energy. About200 students participatedduring the symposium.

PA lecture at National College of Engineering

Page 14 of 18

PA lecture at Karpagam Academy of Higher Education, Coimbatore on Feb 16, 2018

Few glimpses PA lecture at

KarpagamAcademy of

Higher Education

PA lecture At

NIT, CalicutPA lecture At National Institute of Technology, Calicut

on Feb 18, 2018

Annual technicalsymposium, DRAV’18 wasorganised at National Instituteof Technology, Calicut on Feb18, 2018. Smt. LakshmiGopidas, Scientific Officer -G, KKNPP participated duringthe panel discussion anddelivered an lecture on“Nuclear Energy”.

Theme for DRAV’18 : 'Alternative energy'

PA lecture at Malankara

Catholic College

Sh D.G.Mohan, ScientificOfficer-F, KKNPP delivered aninspiring lecture on “NuclearEnergy” to the students ofMalankara CatholicCollege on Feb 19, 2018.About 150 studentsparticipated during thelecture.

PA lecture at Malankara Catholic College, Kaliakkavilai, KK district on Feb 19, 2018

National seminar wasorganised at KarpagamAcademy of HigherEducation, Coimbatore on Feb16 2018. Shri P.Pandaram, Scientific Officer-G, TLD lab KKNPP delivered alecture on the Role of NuclearEnergy for sustainabledevelopment of the country.About 250 studentsparticipated during theseminar.

Page 15 of 18

Few glimpses Outside KKNPPPA Exhibition

St.Andrewsschool,

RadhapuramPA Exhibition St.Andrews school, Radhapuram

on Feb 24, 2018Ayyan Thiruvalluareducational & charitabletrust, Kottaikarungulamorganised a Thuirukkuralawareness programme onFeb 24, 2018 at St.AndrewsMatriculationschool, Radhapuram.KKNPP exhibited theworking model and variousexhibits to demonstrate thesafety features of KKNPP.

No. of students participated 450

Publications distributed 5250

Page 16 of 18

Few glimpses Outside KKNPPPA exhibition

At Women’s Christian

College, Nagercoil

PA exhibition At Women’s Christian College, Nagercoil during Feb 27-28, 2018

No.of visitors 1200Publications distributed 12800

Women’s ChristianCollege, Nagercoil, KKdistrict organisedexhibition on theoccation of NationalScience day celebrations.

KKNPP participatedduring the celebrationsand demonstrated thesafety features of KKNPPusing exhibite andworking models.

Duration: Feb 27-28, 2018

Science day celebrations at

Rohini college of Engineering

Anjugramam

Sh S.Anandan, ScientificOfficer-E, NTC, KKNPPconducted a quiz competitionat Rohini college ofEngineering Anjugramam, KKdistrict as a part of Science daycelebrations.

About 150 studentsparticipated in thecompetition.

Date: February 28, 2018

Science day celebrations at Rohini college of EngineeringAnjugramam, KK district on Feb 28, 2018

Page 17 of 18

Did you know? Source: World Nuclear Association

'Clean Coal' Technologies

Source: https://www.skepticalscience.com

Source: World Nuclear Association

Feature article

About 25%of the manmade global warming we’re

experiencing today is caused by methane

emissions.*

To be continued …

Contd…

Methane can come from many sources, both

natural and manmade. But the largest source of

industrial emissions is the oil and gas industry.

Methane is the primary component of natural gas – a common fuel

source.

Burning coal, such as for power generation, gives rise to avariety of wastes which must be controlled or at leastaccounted for. So-called 'clean coal' technologies are a varietyof evolving responses to late 20th century environmentalconcerns, including that of global warming due to carbondioxide releases to the atmosphere. However, many of theelements have in fact been applied for many years, and theywill be only briefly mentioned here:

If methane is allowed to leak into the air before

being used—from a leaky pipe, for instance—it

absorbs the sun’s heat, warming the

atmosphere. For this reason, it’s considered a

greenhouse gas, like carbon dioxide.

Managing wastes from coal:

Coal cleaning by 'washing' has been standard practice indeveloped countries for some time. It reduces emissions of ashand sulfur dioxide when the coal is burned.Electrostatic precipitators and fabric filters can remove 99% ofthe fly ash from the flue gases – these technologies are inwidespread use.Flue gas desulfurisation reduces the output of sulfur dioxide tothe atmosphere by up to 97%, the task depending on the levelof sulfur in the coal and the extent of the reduction. It is widelyused where needed in developed countries.Low-NOx burners allow coal-fired plants to reduce nitrogenoxide emissions by up to 40%. Coupled with re-burningtechniques NOx can be reduced 70% and selective catalyticreduction can clean up 90% of NOx emissions.Increased efficiency of plant – up to 46% thermal efficiencynow (and 50% expected in future) means that newer plantscreate less emissions per kWh than older ones. See Table 1.Advanced technologies such as Integrated GasificationCombined Cycle (IGCC) and Pressurised Fluidised BedCombustion (PFBC) enable higher thermal efficiencies still – upto 50% in the future.Ultra-clean coal (UCC) from new processing technologies whichreduce ash below 0.25% and sulfur to very low levels meanthat pulverised coal might be used as fuel for very large marineengines, in place of heavy fuel oil. There are at least two UCCtechnologies under development. Wastes from UCC are likelyto be a problem.Gasification, including underground coal gasification (UCG) insitu, uses steam and oxygen to turn the coal into carbonmonoxide and hydrogen.Sequestration refers to disposal of liquid carbon dioxide, oncecaptured, into deep geological strata.

Prepared & Edited by:

K.B.Jashi, OIC, TLD Lab kbjashi@kknpp.com

Reviewed by:

P.Pandaram, Member Secretary, PA Committeeppandaram@kknpp.com

R.S.SawantTraining Superintendent & Chairman, PA Committee rssawant@kknpp.com

Issued by:

DS ChoudharySite Director, KKNPP Site

Contact details:

Public Awareness Committee Kudankulam Nuclear Power ProjectKudankulam-627106 E-Mail: pa.awareness@kknpp.com

Page 18 of 18

What are northern lights? Whatcauses them?

Trivia

Northern lights are an ethereal display ofcolored lights shimmering across the nightsky. The scientific name for Northern Lightsis ‘Aurora Borealis’. The aurora oftenappears as curtains of lights, but they canalso be arcs or spirals, often following linesof force in Earth’s magnetic field. The Auroraoccurs when cosmic rays, solar wind andmagnetospheric plasma interact with theupper atmosphere. The lights typically areseen in the far north – the nations borderingthe Arctic Ocean – Canada andAlaska, Scandinaviancountries, Iceland, Greenland and Russia.

Nuclear Trivia

What does it mean foran atom to be excited?Atoms consist of acentral nucleus and asurrounding cloudof electrons encirclingthe nucleus in an orbit.When charged particlesfrom the sun strikeatoms in Earth’satmosphere, electronsmove to higher-energyorbits, further awayfrom the nucleus. Thenwhen an electronmoves back to a lower-energy orbit, it releasesa particle of lightor photon..

The aurora (Northernand Southern Lights)mostly happen nearthe magnetic poles.That's becausethe chargedparticles (mostly electrons and protons)that cause theaurora followalong magnetic fieldlines towards themagnetic poles.When the particlesinteract with oxygenand nitrogen in theatmosphere, creating(mostly) green andpink light - makingthe beautiful aurora!

Source: http://earthsky.org, https://hiddeniceland.is

Mike Taylor in Maine caught this photo in Sep 2014.What causes these lights to appear? Our sunis 93 million miles away. But its effects extendfar beyond its visible surface. Great storms onthe sun send gusts of charged solar particleshurtling across space. If Earth is in the path ofthe particle stream, our planet’s magneticfield and atmosphere react. When the chargedparticles from sun strike atoms/ molecules inEarth’s atmosphere, they excite thoseatoms, causing them to light up.

Source: www.windows2universe.org,

https://socratic.org