INCREDIBLE VIDEO FROM FINLAND SHOWING THE AURORA BOREALIS

What are the Northern Lights? Where’s the best place to see them? What the hell is a firefox? We’ve gathered all the best Northern Lights info right here.

Some time in late August, the sun finally dips far enough below the horizon that stars once again appear in the skies above Finland. And with the return of the stars comes one of the north’s most magical experiences: the Northern Lights. These silky dancing specters, also called aurora borealis, appear as green or violet sheets swaying silently (or crackling softly, depending on who you ask.) Caused by storms sent from the sun itself, seeing the Northern Lights is a transformative experience, a gift from the cosmos itself. There’s the you before you saw the aurora borealis, and the you after.

Where do Northern Lights come from?

The easy answer is magic. The more complicated answer begins in the heart of the sun, where particles are formed by intense nuclear reactions. Eventually, these particles are fired from the sun during times of high solar activity. These electrically charged particles are flying along, and most miss the Earth entirely, but a lucky few are destined for our blue planet.