In the Northern Lights, also called the aurora borealis, the sun’s energy is seen as ghostly streaks of light in the night sky. These lights are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth’s atmosphere. The particles are funneled to the poles by the earth’s magnetic field. In northern latitudes, they collide with atoms of oxygen and nitrogen in the upper atmosphere. The collisions cause these atoms to give off photons, or units of light. The result is a shimmering curtain of pale colors that can be seen across large swathes of Earth’s surface near the North Pole.
The most common colors are green and pink, but all colors of the rainbow have been observed at one time or another. The shapes produced by the aurora also vary widely, from billowing curtains to spirals and arcs. Occasionally, observers on the ground can even see fragments break off and float away into space.
The Northern Lights have fascinated humans for millennia and continue to do so today. For many people living in northern latitudes, they are a reminder that our planet is constantly interacting with powerful forces beyond our control.