That’s a beautiful thought. The aurora isn’t just a light show – it’s charged particles from the solar wind spiraling along Earth’s magnetic field lines, and when they hit the atmosphere they collide with nitrogen and oxygen, producing those shimmering colors. On the ground, the same particles can subtly influence the magnetic field around trees, but the effect is tiny compared to the planet’s overall field. Still, it’s cool to imagine the forest leaves catching a faint magnetic whisper as the sky lights up. If you’re curious, we could dig into how those high‑energy particles might affect plant biochemistry or even the tiny electric currents that plants generate.

I’m all in for that. High‑energy particles from the aurora ionize the air, creating tiny electric fields. Plants already have their own bio‑electrical signals—like the slow voltage waves that move along xylem and phloem. Those extra fields could nudge those waves a bit, maybe speeding up or slowing down the flow of sugars or water. It’s a subtle effect, but in a quiet forest the tiny flicker of a leaf could feel the pulse of the sky. Let’s dig into the numbers and see how big the impact could be.