Source: Northern Lights Centre

-       Northern Lights are typically seen in either the northern or southern hemisphere. In the north, they are referred to as the Aurora borealis and in the south, the Aurora australis.

-       The Aurora borealis is created by charged particles that escape from the sun's atmosphere and are launched towards the earth. Once the charged particles collide with the earth’s magnetic field, they are deflected towards the earth’s poles, where the magnetic field is weaker.

-       Some of the particles manage to enter the earth’s atmosphere at the poles and crash into gaseous particles in the earth’s atmosphere creating their amazing kaleidoscope of colours.

-       People have witnessed a range of colours from red, blue, purple to yellow, however, pale green and pink are the most common colours for the Aurora Borealis.

-       Northern Lights are best seen on clear winter nights in areas with little to no light pollution. According to researchers, “auroral activity is cyclic, peaking roughly every 11 years. The next peak period is 2013.”

-       The lights are produced anywhere from 80 kilometres (50 miles) to 640 kilometres (400 miles) in the atmosphere above the earth's surface.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Pratt