The Northern Lights, also known as aurora borealis, are a spectacular display of light that can be seen in the night sky in the northern hemisphere. The Southern Lights, or aurora australis, are the same phenomenon but occur in the southern hemisphere. The Northern Lights are caused by electrically charged particles that are released by the Sun and travel 150 million kilometers across space to the Earth. These particles are steered towards the poles by Earths magnetic field, which creates two auroral ovals above the North and South Magnetic Poles. When the charged particles collide with gases in Earths upper atmosphere, they produce tiny flashes that fill the sky with colorful light. As billions of flashes occur in sequence, the auroras appear to move or "dance" in the sky. The colors of the Northern Lights are produced by excited atoms of nitrogen and oxygen. Oxygen gives off green and red light, while nitrogen glows blue and purple.

Solar activity plays a significant role in the formation of the Northern Lights. Intense aurora displays are generated following massive explosions on the Sun known as coronal mass ejections. These explosions release clouds of hot plasma that can travel through space at high speeds. When a solar storm comes towards Earth, some of the energy and small particles can travel down the magnetic field lines at the north and south poles into Earths atmosphere, where they interact with gases and produce the Northern Lights.

In summary, the Northern Lights are caused by electrically charged particles from the Sun that collide with gases in Earths upper atmosphere, producing colorful light displays. Solar activity, such as coronal mass ejections, plays a significant role in the formation of the Northern Lights.