What is meant by the term …

The Aurora borealis is an incredible light
show which caused by collisions between electrically charged particles released
from the sun, that enter the earth’s atmosphere and collide with gases such as
oxygen and nitrogen present in the atmosphere. These lights are seen around the
magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres.

Auroras
that occur in the northern hemisphere are called ‘Aurora Borealis’ or ‘northern
lights’ and auroras that occur in the southern hemisphere are called
‘Aurora Australis’ or ‘southern lights’.

Both these Aurora’s can be seen in the northern or southern hemisphere, in an irregularly shaped like oval centered over each magnetic pole. Aurora displays can appear in many different colours, although green is the most common, but in addition to this, colours such as red, yellow, green, blue and violet are also seen occasionally. The auroras can appear in many forms, from small patches of light that appear out of nowhere to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains or shooting rays that light up the sky with an incredible glow.