Particles thrown out from the Sun strike the Earth's atmosphere so hard that they break down gases into plasma, creating the Aurorae.
Source: Copyright Museum Victoria
Question: Is there a difference between the Northern Lights and the Southern Lights?
Answer: Not really! The only difference between the aurora borealis and the aurora australis is the hemisphere where the phenomena can be observed. Both of them are caused by streams of particles from the Sun colliding with gases in the Earth’s ionosphere. In the southern hemisphere, the aurora can usually only be observed from high southern latitudes. If you are interested in seeing this beautiful display, try signing up for the “aurora alert” service from the Bureau of Meteorology.