极光，美丽的极光是如何产生的？

南极极光 The Antarctic Report

Aurora australis at the South Pole, caused by electrically charged particles from the Sun, colliding with gaseous molecules in Earth’s atmosphere; green is produced by oxygen molecules 100km above Earth, blue & purple by nitrogen molecules higher still, red light is caused by collisions with oxygen and nitrogen molecules.

南极极光是由来自太阳的带电粒子与地球大气中的气态分子碰撞而产生的，绿色是由地球上空100公里处的氧气分子产生的，而蓝色和紫色是由更稳定的氮气分子产生的，红色是氧气分子和氮气分子产生的。

北极极光 Photo by Markus Kiili Photography

The Aurora Borealis (“Northern Lights”) or their southern counterpart the Aurora Australis are spectacularly colorful night-time displays, located above the Earth’s magnetic poles in the northern and southern hemispheres. 

北极光与南极极光相对应，它们位于位于地球磁场的北极，夜晚会展现出绚丽的色彩。