Check out the timelapse of the aurora we captured on Monday night at the Observatory. For those unfamiliar, the Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) and the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) are incredible natural occurrences that occur when electrically charged particles from the sun interact with Earth's atmosphere. It's like what happens inside a neon sign. The green aurora is the most common colour seen and is produced when charged particles collide with oxygen molecules at altitudes of 100 to

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Once thought to be portents of doom, auroras are now known to be remarkably common phenomena, caused when electrically charged electrons and protons accelerate down the Earth’s magnetic field lines and collide with neutral atoms in the upper atmosphere—usually about 100 km above the Earth. This video explains what causes the beautiful lights of the aurora. For more information visit: www.sws.bom.gov.au/Aurora International Space Station footage courtesy of NASA - National Aeronautics and Space A