Kristian Birkeland (physicist)

Kristian Birkeland was a Norwegian physicist renowned for his pioneering work on Earth's auroras (Northern and Southern Lights) and space physics. He hypothesized that these stunning light displays result from charged particles from the sun interacting with Earth's magnetic field. Birkeland built experiments and models to demonstrate how these particles are directed toward polar regions, creating auroras. His research laid foundational understanding for space weather and plasma physics, influencing modern studies of solar-terrestrial interactions and the behavior of magnetic fields in space.