It’s a very spectacular phenomenon which occurs regularly, at night, in the northern hemisphere.

You can see huge colored waves of light, which move quickly and seem to dance in the sky. Wow!

The same thing happens in the southern hemisphere. It is called aurora australis.

But what causes them?

Polar auroras are born from the meeting between particles ejected by the Sun and the Earth’s atmosphere.

Yes, the Sun is constantly ejecting particles in all directions; we call this the solar wind.

The Earth is protected from solar winds by its magnetic field; a kind of invisible shield.

But, when the solar winds are very strong, the particles slide on the magnetic field and are attracted towards the poles.

The particles then collide with gases at the top of the Earth’s atmosphere.

These collisions generate light, which fills the sky with colored veils.

Auroras can take on different colors according to the gases present in the atmosphere: green, pink, red or purple.

For the observer, the spectacle is amazingly beautiful.

You can see this natural phenomenon near the polar circles, far away from any light. Open your eyes and enjoy!