Characteristics

• Originate from the sun.
• They are a result of our atmosphere shielding against solar particles which would otherwise make our planet uninhabitable.
• Northern lights bring together two mythological deities - Aurora, the Roman goddess of the dawn, and Boreas, Greek god of the north wind
• In order for an observer to actually see the aurora with the naked eye, about a 100 million photons are required.

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Technology

• Northern Lights are formed by solar particles from the sun in the Earth's atmosphere.
• These particles are released from the sun during explosions.
• They travel in clouds at speeds from 300 to 1000 km/sec.
• After traveling anywhere from two to three days, these clouds approach earth.
• Pulled by the Earth's magnetic forces, the particles travel to either pole.
• The plasma clouds are then trapped in the Earth's atmosphere.

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Wonder Qualities

• Chasing the the Northern Lights is difficult, since the phenomenon seems to have a mind of its own.
• It can beconcluded that the colour composition of the aurora is the atmosphere's fingerprint.
• Brilliant auroras often occur at 27-day intervals as active areas on the sun's surface face earth during its 27-day rotation cycle.

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