Solar Wind

The Boston Globe Ideas section had a nice explanation of the Northern Lights. 

However, it is not quite right to say "...[charged particles] are carried outward by the solar wind." 

My understanding is that the charged particles ARE the solar wind!  Also, Newton's first law will get the charged particles to Earth just fine after they have been thrown off of the surface of the Sun.  (no need to be "carried" - inertia does the trick).

Might seem picky, but just like you are not pushed forward to tomorrow by time nor is water pushed towards shore by waves;  i's just not quite right.

The articled also misses a nice symmetry in regards to the northern lights:  Magnetism.  Although the Earth's magnetic field is mentioned as a deflector of most charged particles, the article seems to imply that some particles just happen  to "come hurtling toward the atmosphere at the north and south magnetic poles".  In actuality, the charged particles are spiraling around the magnetic field lines and those fields themselves bring them to the north and south pole (which is where the magnetic field lines exit and enter the Earth). 
The symmetry bit is that magnetic field lines are the original cause of the Solar Eruptions that flung the particles into space in the first place:

The Sun's magnetic field lines throws 'em out and the Eath's magnetic field catches 'em.  That is the outerspace baseball game we catch the tail end of and call "Northern Lights".