What are the "Northern Lights"?

What are the "Northern Lights"?

Professor Gizmo (Amazing Science Presentations) gives expert video advice on: Why do we need to wear a space suit in space?; Why do things float around in space?; Why do stars twinkle? and more...

I don't know if you've ever seen the Northern Lights but they're absolutely beautiful. Certain times of year under certain conditions, especially after a solar flare, which is kind of a storm on the sun, it sends off all kinds of material out in space. As that material gets to the earth, what happens is it gets attracted to the poles of our earth. These cosmic rays that are coming from the sun are pulled down at the polar region because of the magnetic north pole. As they come through the earth's atmosphere, they create Aurora Borealis in the Northern Lights. They create these flashing, dancing, colorful lights. They're usually seen brighter near the north pole. Sometimes if you get a real large eruption from the sun you will see these further south towards the equator but most of the time you have to live in a northern latitude before you can see the Northern Lights.