A glow in the night sky, most commonly visible at high latitudes. Sometimes appearing as shafts or curtains of coloured light. The aurora is caused when particles (mainly electrons) streaming from the sun interact with Earth’s magnetic field. This forms currents of charged particles in the magnetic field and when these collide with nitrogen and oxygen atoms in the upper atmosphere, light is emitted. Emissions from oxygen are red and green in colour, whilst those from nitrogen are violet and pink. The aurora australis is visible in the southern polar region.

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