The sun has gone crazy the last few days, with very powerful magnetic storms. I read in the newspapers that this has caused problems for the air traffic, in particular near the poles.
And it creates northern light.
The magnetic storms send bursts of electrically charged particles into space. When the particles come close to the the Earth, they follow the magnetic field towards the north and south poles. That's why you need to be far north (or far south) to see the norther (or southern) light.
It's not very often we see strong northern light as far south as our town (at 63 degrees north). It's a spectacular view, but it's just some cool physics in action >:)
(The picture is from our local newspaper. It shows the northern light flashing over the town.)
