Aurora Borealis

• The Aurora Borealis is named after the Roman Goddess, Aurora and is also known as the ‘Northern Lights’.
• The phrase ‘Aurora Borealis’ was invented in 1619 by Galileo, after Aurora, the Roman Goddess of the Dawn, and Borealis, the North Wind.

Description

• The Aurora is a series of moving light effects in the sky produced by the Solar Wind colliding with the Earth’s Magnetic Field. The collision of particles produces bands of moving light across the sky.
• The Aurora occur in a band between 10-20° from the Geomagnetic Poles.
• Visible in northerly Latitudes approaching the North Pole and known as ‘The Northern Lights’.

Aurora Australis

• The Aurora is also visible in Southern Latitudes between 10-20° from the South Pole, and is known as the Aurora Australis.
• The same moving displays of light occur in the sky for the same reason as in Northern Latitudes.