What is the Aurora Australis?
The Aurora Australis or Southern Lights are mesmerizing, dynamic displays of light that appear in the Antarctic night skies. They appear in many forms — pillars, streaks, wisps, haloes, and curtains of vibrating color. Auroras are caused by collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun and gases in Earth’s upper atmosphere. These collisions produce electrical discharges which energize atoms of oxygen and nitrogen causing the release of various colors of light.
