Aurora Borealis. View of the Aurora Borealis (northern Lights) in the sky over a village, with the North Star (Polaris) and stars of the Big Dipper (the prominent part of constellation Ursa Major) also visible. The aurora borealis (northern lights) is a coloured light display that is visible in the night sky at high latitudes. It occurs when charged and energetic particles from the Sun (the solar wind) are drawn by Earth's magnetic field to the polar regions. Hundreds of kilometres up, they collide with gas molecules and atoms, causing them to emit light. Photographed near Tromso, Norway.