The polar light, known as Aurora, is a beautiful display of colorful radiance that can be seen in the high latitude regions. The lights of the northern hemisphere are known as 'Aurora borealis', which means 'dawn of the north'. According to the Roman mythology, Aurora is the name of the dawn goddess.

The mysterious radiance adorning the sky above the poles is actually result of collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere. Scientists have learned that in most instances northern and southern Aurora lights are mirror-like images that occur at the same time, with similar shapes and colors.

Because the temperature of the sun is millions of degrees Celsius, collisions between gas molecules are frequent and explosive. Free electrons and protons escape through holes in the magnetic field and are blown towards the earth by the solar wind. Since earth's magnetic field is weaker at the poles, some of the particles coming from the sun enter the atmosphere and collide with the gas particles. The effect of this collisions are the colorful dancing lights of the Auroras.

The enchanting swirl of lights can appear in many colors, although pale green and pink are the most common display. The celestial symphony of color can also include shades of red, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Those variations are caused by the different types of gas particles colliding.

The most common auroral color, a pale yellowish-green, is produced by oxygen molecules located about 60 miles above the earth. The rare red Auroras are also caused by oxygen molecules but at a much higher altitudes. The vivid purple-red and blue flows of light are produced by Nitrogen.

The illuminating beauty of the polar lights seems almost magic. The Menominee Indians believed that the lights indicated the location of the spirits of great hunters and fishermen. The Inuit of Alaska believed that the lights were the spirits of the animals they hunted: the seals, salmon, deer and beluga whales.

Cover: Patrick J. Endres
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Page 2: National Geographic; Arild Heitmann
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