From fall to spring, people who live in the Arctic
get to see the world’s
biggest light show. Auroras are beautiful
shimmering curtains of light in the night
sky. High in Earth’s upper atmosphere,
energetic electrons from Earth’s magnetic
field collide with gases, making them glow.
Auroras are a
sign that something electric is happening
in the space around Earth.
Usually,
you only see auroras if you live in
the Arctic – they show up over
the poles because of the shape of Earth’s
magnetic field. Occasionally people have
seen the northern lights (aurora borealis)
as far south as Texas and Florida. Few
people have ever seen the southern lights
(aurora australis) – they usually
appear only over Antarctica. |