Aurora Borealis

Nature's own light show, powered by the Sun/Events & Phenomena

The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, occurs when charged particles from the solar wind slam into gas molecules in Earth's upper atmosphere, causing them to glow. The result is shimmering curtains of green, purple, red, and blue light that can stretch thousands of kilometers across the sky. They typically occur between 100 and 300 km altitude and are best seen from high-latitude regions. Despite centuries of study, they still stop people in their tracks.