
Northern Lights
Marcela Strasdas
The Northern Lights are a magical display of unbelievable colour in the Arctic sky from late August until April. Another name for them is “Aurora Borealis”, which means “Dawn of the North” from Aurora, the Roman Goddess of Dawn.
The best places to see them in Canada is anywhere in the northern provinces and territories but they can be seen as far south as Victoria BC. There are many interesting legends associated with them, many having to do with war, famine, hunted animals and spirits of great hunters and fishermen.
The lights are the result of collisions of electrically charged particles entering the atmosphere, and range in colour from yellow and red, to blue, green, violet, roses and pinks. Colours seen depend on the kind of gas present in the colliding particles.
They are no doubt a sight to be seen!