Aurora borealis against a starry sky. This display of coloured lights, also known as the northern lights, is observed in the night sky at high latitud

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Aurora borealis against a starry sky. This display of coloured lights, also known as the northern lights, is observed in the night sky at high latitudes. It occurs when charged solar particles are drawn to the Earth's magnetic north pole and collide with gas molecules in the upper atmosphere. This causes the excitation of oxygen and nitrogen molecules, resulting in the emission of light. Photographed in Finland.

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Photo credit: © PEKKA PARVIAINEN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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Keywords: activity, atmosphere, atmospheric, aurora, aurorae, borealis, earth, earths, effect, effects, electromagnetic, emission, finland, high, latitude, light, lights, natural, nature, night, north, northern, phenomenon, polar, pole, science, sciences, silhouetted, sky, solar, trees