What is the Aurora Borealis?

For a long time the northern lights (aurora borealis) were a great puzzle. The people of olden times made up many stories to explain them. One of these was that the light came from a battle the gods were fighting. In more re­cent times people have thought the aurora was sunlight reflected from the snow and ice in the Far North.

The right explanation. scientists tell us, is this: On the Sun there are often great storms. We call them sunspots. From these sunspots, streams of tiny electric particles are shot out. When these particles reach the upper air, they cause the aurora. The different colors come from the effect of the electric particles on the different gases in the air. The colors are produced very much as colors are produced in neon signs.

The northern lights are at their best in the Far North. But they have been seen from all over the United States and Europe.

In the Far South there are lights like the northern lights. They are called the aurora australis.