The interaction causes the atoms in Earth's atmosphere to glow, creating a spectrum of color in the night sky. A view of the Northern Lights by the Eklutna Lake in Alaska, December 31, 2024.

We've already given a full explanation of why the northern lights are different colors, detailing which gases the sun's charged particles excite in Earth's atmosphere. But the three commonest ...

It takes all the colors of the rainbow for us to see it that way ... That's because blue and violet light have the shortest, smallest wavelengths. Since the blue waves become separated from ...