Colored light in the night sky near the earth's magnetic poles: There are two auroras, in which one is called aurora borealis , "northern lights" in the northern hemisphere, and aurora australis in the southern hemisphere.

Although aurorae are usually restricted to the polar skies, fluctuations in the solar wind occasionally cause them to be visible at lower latitudes.

Aurorae are caused at heights of over 100 kilometers or 60 miles by a fast stream of charged particles from solar flares and low-density "holes" in the sun's corona.

"Southern lights" or colored lights in the night sky near the earth's magnetic pole in the southern hemisphere: When Linda spent a year in Australia, she was very excited when she could see the aurora australis in the night sky!

The colored lights seen in the skies around the North Pole: The aurora borealis is caused by the interaction between the solar wind, the earth's magnetic field and the upper atmosphere.

The aurora borealis, th "Northern lights", are colored lights in the night sky near the earth's magnetic pole in the northern hemisphere of the earth.

A similar effect happens in the southern hemisphere where it is known as the aurora australis.