Final answer:
Dissipative absorption causes charged particles from the solar wind to interact with Earth's magnetic fields and the atmosphere, resulting in the aurora borealis. Specific transition metal ions in the Earth's atmosphere absorb certain wavelengths of light, leading to the emission of specific colors.
Step-by-step explanation:
Dissipative absorption refers to the process in which charged particles from the solar wind interact with Earth's magnetic fields and collide with particles in the Earth's atmosphere, causing them to glow and produce the phenomenon known as the aurora borealis or northern lights. The colorful glow in the sky is a result of the interaction between the charged particles and the Earth's atmosphere.
This interaction primarily causes red or green lights to be emitted across a large part of the sky. The reason we don't see more colors is because the specific transition metal ions present in the Earth's atmosphere absorb certain wavelengths of light, causing specific colors to be emitted. The color variation in the aurora borealis is due to the varying composition of gases and transition metal ions in the Earth's atmosphere at different altitudes and locations.