The northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, are a natural phenomenon caused by energized particles from the Sun that hit the Earth’s upper atmosphere at great speed.  

There are two different types of “lights”. There are the northern lights and southern lights. There is no typical big difference except the fact that the northern lights are up the North and the southern lights in the Southern Hemisphere. The sightings of Southern lights are common from May to August. Unfortunately, they are more rare to spot than the aurora borealis. This phenomenon is more active in the North, that’s why most parts of Europe have amazing sightings. In fact, Norwegian scientist Kristian Birkeland is known for being the “Father of the Northern Lights” since he was the first to explain its cause even though it has been admired thousands of years prior. The northern lights are guaranteed to be seen in Northern Europe, such as Iceland, Norway, and Denmark.

In Canada, there’s a possibility to see this phenomenon but it’s much better up north, where they are most apparent. But recently, many people around the world have seen the northern lights. On May 10th, 2024, there were unexpected observations of the lights around 10 pm. Many people didn’t know about this occurrence and were upset about this. By looking at the many Instagram posts, pictures, or even videos, those who didn’t witness the natural phenomenon were either jealous or somewhat mad. “I was so sad and disappointed that I missed it. I saw the pictures online and wished someone could’ve told me earlier”, explained Audrey. She also mentioned it is a “once in a life” experience. People on the internet have said that the lights were quite hard to spot with the naked eye. They were more visible to capture with any camera.