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What Are the Northern Lights?

Part of What Was?

Author Sarah Fabiny, Who HQ

Illustrated by Robert Squier

Paperback

$7.99 US

Penguin Young Readers | Penguin Workshop

5-5/16"W x 7-5/8"H

On sale Jan 05, 2027 | 112 Pages | 9798217144662

Grades 3-7

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Marvel at the mesmerizing northern lights by learning the history of the natural light show and the science behind how the aurora borealis works!

It takes three things for the northern lights to appear in the sky: a stream of charged particles, a magnetic field, and an atmosphere of certain gases. For much of history, however, this scientific recipe was unknown. The northern lights were thought to be something magical or supernatural: It was once believed that the lights were dragons fighting across the night sky. It wasn't until 1230 that people began to think that the aurora borealis could be created by a natural and remarkable phenomenon. This led to hundreds of years of different scientists carefully studying the lights through dangerous expeditions and magnetic experiments. In 1908, a scientist named Kristian Birkeland finally discovered the cause of the northern lights, and his theory is the one we still believe today. Learn all about the fascinating history of the northern lights in this book for young readers.

Sarah Fabiny is an author and editor living in New York City. View titles by Sarah Fabiny

Who HQ is your headquarters for history. The Who HQ team is always working to provide simple and clear answers to some of our biggest questions. From Who Was George Washington? to Who Is Michelle Obama?, and What Was the Battle of Gettysburg? to Where Is the Great Barrier Reef?, we strive to give you all the facts. Visit us at WhoHQ.com View titles by Who HQ

Robert Squier View titles by Robert Squier

What Are the Northern Lights?
On the evening of May 10, 2024, millions of people around the world stood outside and looked up at the night sky. They were all waiting to see a historic, and likely once-in-a-lifetime, event. As the sky darkened, what they had been looking for began to appear. Slowly, faint waves of red, blue, green, and pink light began to shimmer over their heads. Soon the faint waves became bright curtains of color dancing across the night sky. People all over the planet were in awe as this spectacular light show went on for hours, continuing into the morning of May 11. It was like nothing they had ever seen before. What these millions of people had just witnessed were the northern lights.

That evening, a series of powerful events came together to create this incredible and historic display of the northern lights. The lights are usually seen only in the very far north, in the Arctic and in a few countries that are located just below the Arctic region. But that night, people who lived as far south as Florida witnessed the brilliant light show, which was visible farther afield than predicted. People in Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa who had never seen the light display were treated to a very special event. The northern lights usually only last for several minutes or maybe a couple of hours. However, this display was very unusual because it went on for the entire night.

How is it that such bright colors can suddenly appear in the night sky? For thousands of years, people have asked this question. And it certainly feels a bit like you’re watching something magical when you see a display of the northern lights. But it’s no magic trick. It’s
all real, and it’s all thanks to science.