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What are the northern lights?

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Quick answer

The northern lights, or aurora borealis, are glowing curtains of color in the night sky near the Arctic. They appear when charged particles from the Sun crash into gases high in Earth's atmosphere, making them glow green, pink, and purple.

Key things to understand

  1. They're caused by solar particles striking Earth's upper atmosphere.
  2. Earth's magnetic field funnels those particles toward the poles.
  3. Different gases glow different colors — oxygen green, nitrogen purple.
  4. The southern version is called the aurora australis.

People also ask

What causes the northern lights?
Charged particles from the Sun collide with gases high in Earth's atmosphere, making them glow.
Why do the northern lights appear near the poles?
Earth's magnetic field steers the solar particles toward the north and south magnetic poles.
What makes the different aurora colors?
The gas being struck — oxygen tends to glow green or red, while nitrogen glows blue or purple.