Aurora: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 7, 2026

News •

Northern Lights dance across UK sky on Halloween night • Nov. 1, 2026, 5:16 AM ET (BBC)

Photos and Videos

aurora australis

Jupiter's northern and southern auroras

Jupiter's auroral arcs

Jupiter's northern aurora

Diagram showing the layers of Earth's atmosphere from the surface upward: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere, with labeled altitudes, weather balloons, airplanes, clouds, auroras, meteors, and satellites for scale.

The northern lights create pink and green lines in the sky on a dark night.

Green haze over a curved horizon.

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Topics

What Causes the Northern and Southern Lights?How to watch the northern lights Southern lights Northern lights Airglow Solar wind Electrojet Atmosphere Chemical equator rainbow Halo Aureole Cellini’s halo Atmospheric corona Saint Elmo’s fire Brocken spectre Sun dog crepuscular rays

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Key People

Størmer

Fredrik Størmer

Norwegian geophysicist and mathematician