If you’ve ever looked up at the sky on a clear night and seen those glowing green waves dancing overhead… that’s the Aurora Borealis — the Northern Lights. And the science behind it is actually pretty cool.
Every day, the Sun sends out a stream of charged particles called the solar wind. Most of the time, Earth’s magnetic field blocks it. But near the North and South Poles, some of those particles sneak in and collide with gases high in our atmosphere. When that happens, the sky lights up — literally.
The colours depend on what the particles hit: oxygen gives you greens and reds, nitrogen gives you purples and blues. And the stronger the solar activity, the farther south we can see it — even here in Thunder Bay when conditions are just right.
So the next time you spot those shimmering curtains of colour, you’re actually watching the Sun and Earth interact in real time… a natural light show millions of years in the making.
Late last night and early this morning – the Northern Lights were quite visible. Check it out:
