Auroras or Aurorae the magical lights that we commonly know as polar lights.
Visible in earth's sky these lights are more actively seen in the higher altitude regions ie. Antartica and the Arctic.
The reason why Auroras are formed is a disturbance in the magnetosphere caused by the solar winds.
The particles that form the Auroras are mainly trapped electrons and protons that get released into earth's atmosphere.
The word Aurora's derivation happens to be from the name of Roman Goddess of Dawn also known as Aurora.
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Auroras are constantly known to change shape. This grand dance-performance often happens very rapidly.
Norwegian scientist Kristian Birkeland was the first one to explain what Aurora are and why they are formed.
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Captain James Cook was the person who named auroras in southern hemisphere as Aurora Australis. Here Australis means southern in latin.
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The oldest known occurence of Aurora dates back to 2600 B.C.
100s of documented reports also state that Auroras are not only a show of light but there are also sounds of hissing, crackling and clapping heard during the phenomenon.
Lastly, Auroras also occur on planets like Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Mars. And, on these planets too the lights appear closer to the poles.