The northern lights, also called the aurora borealis, are shimmering curtains of colored light that dance across the night sky in places far to the north, like Alaska, Canada, Norway, and Iceland. These lights appear as glowing green, pink, purple, or red waves that ripple and shift like silk ribbons caught in an invisible breeze.

The northern lights happen when particles from the sun collide with gases in Earth's atmosphere, high above the ground. Earth's magnetic field pulls many of these solar particles toward the North and South Poles, which is why the lights appear in the far northern and southern parts of the world. (Near the South Pole, they're called the southern lights, or aurora australis.)

For thousands of years, people who lived in the far north created stories to explain these mysterious lights. Some thought they were spirits dancing in the sky. Others believed they were reflections from the armor of warrior maidens. Today we understand the science behind them, but that doesn't make them any less magical to witness.

The northern lights are brightest during periods of strong solar activity, and they're best seen on clear, dark winter nights away from city lights. Watching them in person is on many people's bucket lists: seeing those ethereal colors shimmer and pulse across the entire sky is an unforgettable experience.