The Northern Lights, also called auroras, are natural light displays in the sky that occur around the Poles.
They are most visible at night, when the bright colors stand out in the dark sky.
Auroras are caused by the collision of solar wind with the Earth's atmosphere at an altitude between 60 and 400 miles above sea level.
Green auroras, like the one in the picture below, occur at a lower altitude and are easier to spot than red auroras.
They are most visible around the spring and autumn equinoxes, at the end of March and end of September.
They concentrate around the poles because the solar wind is attracted there by the Earth's magnetic field.
Technically, 'aurora borealis' are only those happening around the North Pole: when an aurora occurs at the South Pole it is called 'aurora australis'
Countries like Norway, Iceland, and Canada are famous for their auroras, but they are also visible in New Zealand and Chile,
These countries also enjoy some of the wildest natural landscapes in the world.
The name "aurora" comes from the Roman mythology, and was the name of the goddess of light.
It normally takes between 10 and 30 seconds to take a picture of a bright aurora with a standard DSLR camera.
Still considering that trip to Scandinavia?
