What are the Southern Lights called?

The Southern Lights are called the Aurora Australis. They are the southern-hemisphere counterpart of the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights.

An aurora forms when charged particles carried by the solar wind interact with Earth’s magnetic field and collide with gases high in the atmosphere. Excited oxygen and nitrogen atoms then release light, producing shimmering curtains, arcs, and rays. Oxygen commonly produces green or red hues, while nitrogen can contribute blue or purple tones.

The Aurora Australis is most often visible from high southern latitudes, including Antarctica, Tasmania, southern New Zealand, and parts of southern Australia and South America. Strong geomagnetic storms can expand the auroral zone, allowing the lights to appear much farther from the South Pole than usual.

The Latin name is descriptive: aurora means “dawn,” while australis means “southern.” A common mistake is treating the Southern Lights as a different physical phenomenon from the Northern Lights. Both are polar auroras produced by the same basic interaction between solar particles, Earth’s magnetosphere, and the upper atmosphere.