Scientists have kept a close watch on the dazzling northern
lights on Earth and other planets in our solar system, but now
they have the chance to explore the auroras of alien planets
orbiting distant stars, a new study suggests. Auroras on Earth
occur when charged particles from the sun are funneled to the
planet's poles and interact with the upper atmosphere, sparking
spectacular light shows. Similar processes have been observed on
other planets in the solar system, with Jupiter's auroras more
than 100 times brighter than those on Earth, scientists said.
Now, scientists are finding evidence of aurora displays on
exoplanets for the first time. Researchers used the Low-
Frequency Array radio telescope based in The Netherlands to
observe radio emissions most likely caused by powerful auroras
from planets outside of our solar system. "These results
strongly suggest that auroras do occur on bodies outside our
solar system, and the auroral radio emissions are powerful
enough — 100,000 times brighter than Jupiter's