Countries in the Northern Hemisphere are known for the picturesque Northern Lights, but does this phenomenon take place in the Southern Hemisphere? Yes, they do. In fact, they often reflect the lights in the northern hemisphere.
These lights appear when the Earth's magnetic field pulls charged particles from the sun toward the poles, where they collide with atoms and molecules found in the atmosphere, said to Axel M. Quetz of the Max Planck Institute of Space in Heidelberg, Germany.
The energy emitted from these collisions creates the lights also known as Aurora: Aurora Borealis (North Pole) and Aurora Australis (South Pole), reported the German news agency.
When full clouds of particles from the sun, which reach the "solar wind", are reflected between the magnetic poles, they can create similar lights in the northern and southern hemispheres.
If you want to see the lights in the north, you can head to Iceland, Scandinavia, Scotland, Greenland, Canada, Alaska and northern Serbia. Depending on where you go, you can see the Aurora Borealis between August and April.
To watch the Aurora Australis, go to southern Argentina and South New Zealand, or if you are looking for a real adventure, go to Antarctica. The lights can be seen between March and October, in the darkest time of winter.
Scientists believe that the intensity of the lights is linked to the solar life cycle, which can last 11 years and is currently at a very weak stage. It is therefore preferable to wait a few years for a period of increased solar activity when the chances of seeing the lights are better.
