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What Causes the ‘Northern Lights’ and How Are They Different from the Southern Lights?

The Northern Lights are like fireworks in the sky, made by tiny particles from the sun bouncing around in Earth’s atmosphere. When these particles hit oxygen or nitrogen high up in the air, they light up the sky with beautiful colors. The Southern Lights, or auroras australis, are just like that too, but you can only see them if you're near the South Pole.

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Examples

  1. Imagine tiny fireworks going off in the sky above the North Pole, that's the Northern Lights!
  2. It’s like when you shake a bottle of paint and watch it splash all over the night sky.
  3. You can see them dancing if you go to the Arctic or Antarctica, depending on where you are.

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Categories: Space · aurora,space weather,magnetosphere