Aurora borealis over a shoreline near the Qualeraliq glacier in the region around Qassiarsuk, Greenland. The aurora borealis is a coloured light displ


Aurora borealis over a shoreline near the Qualeraliq glacier in the region around Qassiarsuk, Greenland. The aurora borealis is a coloured light display (the northern lights) that is visible in the night sky, usually only at high latitudes. It occurs when charged and energetic particles from the Sun (the solar wind) are drawn by Earth's magnetic field to the polar regions. Hundreds of kilometres up, they collide with gas molecules and atoms, causing them to emit light.


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Photo credit: © JUAN CARLOS CASADO (starryearth.com)/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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