The Northern Lights

The northern lights are moving bands of light that appear in the sky, especially in regions near the Arctic.  This type of light display is known as an Aurora, and is caused when highly charged solar wind particles coming from the sun collide with air molecules in the earth's atmosphere.  The energy from that collision is transferred into light of varying colors.  To us it looks like it is dancing.  The bands of light can appear as curtains, rays, spirals, or just flickers across the sky.  Auroras don't just appear in the north, though.  They also appear in the south near the Antarctic.  The northern lights are known as Aurora Borealis, and the southern lights are known as Aurora Australis.  There have even been a few times recently where a geothermal storm has caused the auroral range to widen, and we have been lucky enough to see them here in Ohio!

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