Aurora Borealis

I would love to see the Aurora Borealis.  It is an amazing, natural display where mysterious, multi-coloured lights appear; twisting and turning in the night sky. 

Perhaps you have already seen it?  It is sometimes called the Northern Lights because it appears in the Arctic - which is in the north.  People further south have been lucky enough to see them too.



          Here is a photo taken in Cumbria 
          (which is in the UK).






The lights are formed from fast-moving, electrically charged particles that come from the sun. These are driven towards the poles by the Earth’s magnetic field – their varying colours are a result of the different gases in the upper atmosphere.  They hang above the planet in an oval-shaped halo in the northern hemisphere.



The best places to go and see the Aurora Borealis are from the snowy wilds of Canada and Alaska but Iceland or northern Scandinavia (Lapland) are also good viewing spots.

Here it is possible to see the lights from late September to early April.

If I could go anywhere in the world, I would go to Fort McMurray in Northern Alberta, Canada to see the Aurora Borealis!