Trending

Aurora Borealis

The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, is the rippling night-sky light display found at the northernmost reaches of the Earth. The south has a corresponding aurora australis, also known as the southern lights. The northern and southern auroras occur when charged particles released by the sun, called the solar wind, are guided along the Earth's magnetic field to its poles and interact with particles in the upper atmosphere there. How to see the Northern Lights.

Related Topics: Earth, Solar Flares and Space Weather 

Latest Updates

Astronauts at the International Space Station enjoyed the most stunning display of aurora borealis thanks to a cannibal coronal mass ejection.

'Cannibal' sun eruption gives departing astronauts their best aurora views yet

By Tereza Pultarova

Astronauts at the International Space Station enjoyed the most spectacular aurora display of their entire mission over the weekend after a massive blast of material from the sun reached our planet.

The northern lights are seen over Teriberka, Russia, a village with the population of about 1,000 people, located some 120 km away from the city of Murmansk on the Russian Arctic coast on Oct. 30, 2021.

Halloween northern lights from huge solar flare thrill skywatchers

By Tariq Malik

A huge solar flare from the sun has spawned a Halloween northern lights show that has stargazers over the moon.

The northern lights shimmered in the night sky over Tromsø, Norway, on Jan. 9, 2014, after a coronal mass ejection arrived in near-Earth space, following a two-day journey from the sun.

Northern lights (aurora borealis): What they are & how to see them

By Stefanie Waldek

REFERENCE Learn all about the northern lights, including the science behind their colors, the display's ancient history and how to see the phenomenon.

Auroras on Uranus behave in unexpected ways.

Scientists create most detailed map of Uranus' mysterious auroras to date

By Tereza Pultarova

Scientists have imaged the whole globe of Uranus in the infrared part of the light spectrum for the first time, hoping to shed light on the planet's mysterious auroras and weird magnetic field

aurora

Astronauts capture stunning aurora from International Space Station

By Elizabeth Howell

The sky show took place over Antarctica and New Zealand.

An aurora spotted from the International Space Station. An Oct. 11 geomagnetic solar storm created auroras that stretched as far south as New York.

Solar storm hits Earth, bringing northern lights to New York

By Chelsea Gohd

A solar storm hit Earth and brought with it a spectacular light show visible as far south as New York.

European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet snapped a photo of a stunning aurora on Aug. 20 from the International Space Station.

Superbright aurora lights up Earth's night side in incredible image from space

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) captured a stunning new photo of the luminous green and red lights of an aurora hugging clouds swirling around Earth's night side.

A view of the aurora australis over the southern Indian Ocean as seen on Aug. 2, 2021 by astronauts on the International Space Station.

Watch auroras paint the sky above Earth in these stunning astronaut photos and video

By Meghan Bartels

It's aurora season on the International Space Station and astronauts living and working in orbit are sharing some of their finest views of the stunning phenomenon with those of us on the ground.

Aurora Over Abisko National Park in Sweden

Where to see the northern lights: 2021 aurora borealis guide

By Mike Wall, Elizabeth Howell

Where should you go to get the best look at the dancing, dazzling display known as the aurora borealis?

Airivo Northern Lights Star Projector is on sale for 27% off on Prime Day.

You can make your own northern lights at home with this Airivo Star Projector deal for Prime Day

By Elizabeth Howell

This Airivo northern lights projector will let you look at the aurora borealis in your living space, whenever you want, and it's on sale for Prime Day.

A surfer carrying a surfboard gazes at the aurora light show in the sky

Earth's aurora origin mystery solved by 'surfing' electrons

By Daisy Dobrijevic

Scientists have discovered how electrons gain enough energy to cause phenomenal auroral displays.

A dune-like aurora borealis.

Mystery of strange new 'dune' auroras solved, scientists say

By Elizabeth Howell

A Finnish-led team has new insights into auroral "dunes" first reported in scientific literature a year ago.

A 2017 STEVE event over New Zealand reveals the strange new feature that astronomers are calling "streaks."

STEVE is smearing green 'streaks' across the sky, and nobody knows why

By Brandon Specktor

Astronomers report a strange new feature of the aurora-like STEVE, which they are calling 'streaks.'

The RMS Titanic departing Southampton on April 10, 1912, four days before the disaster that claimed more than 1,500 lives.

An aurora that lit up the sky over the Titanic might explain why it sank

By Mindy Weisberger

A geomagnetic storm that sparked spectacular aurora displays could also have contributed to the sinking of the Titanic.

What might the "red sign" have looked like?

1,400-year-old mystery of strange 'red sign' in Japan's sky solved

By Meghan Bartels

A scarlet fan spread across the skies over Japan 1,400 years ago, and it's been puzzling astronomers ever since.

This new aurora, discovered by citizen scientists and dubbed "the dunes" extends out horizontally in waves. Scientists hypothesize that they are visible representations of underlying gravity waves.

Glowing green 'dunes' in the sky mesmerized skygazers. They turned out to be a new kind of aurora.

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

The pattern of light was unfamiliar and strangely perfect, reaching out toward the horizon like a set of celestial sand dunes.

In 2015, astronaut Andreas Mogensen snapped this photo of a thunderstorm from the International Space Station.

Lightning Bolts Create Glowing Auroral 'Elves' and Brilliant Gamma-Ray Flashes

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

Dark fluffy thunderclouds don't just fuel dramatic storms, they also produce some of the most energetic flashes of light on the planet.

The northern aurora lights up the sky over the Gulf of Finland.

Assyrian Tablets Contain Earliest Written Record of Aurora’s Sky Glow

By Mindy Weisberger

An image of the aurora as observed in 1872.

60-Year-Old Aurora Comes to Life in Vintage Film and Drawings

By Meghan Bartels

Six decades ago, a magnificent red splotch spread across the sky — and now, scientists think that by piecing together footage of the event, they better understand even older auroras.

STEVE, seen here in Washington in May 2016, is an aurora-like phenomenon, but it doesn't work quite the same way — and scientists think they finally know why.

That Weird, Aurora-Like Phenomenon Called STEVE Finally Has an Explanation

By Elizabeth Howell

Scientists finally have an explanation for the weird celestial phenomenon called STEVE, which looks and behaves a lot like an aurora but has key differences.