If you’ve ever seen the Northern Lights, you’ve had the pleasure of witnessing the night sky come to life in a fluid dance of radiating colour. This phenomenon is officially referred to as Aurora Borealis and it is essentially the result of an atmospheric collision. Electrically charged particles from the sun come into contact with gaseous particles floating in the Earth’s atmosphere. This collision of energy produces different colours depending on the intensity of the gases. Oxygen, the most prominent element, creates yellowish-green tones and nitrogen brings bluish-ultraviolet tones. If there is high-altitude oxygen (200 miles up) then the rarest of the Northern Lights' colours appears – red. Auroras occur in a band called an "auroral zone” which is located within 10-20 degrees of the geomagnetic poles. The Inuit people of the Arctic believe Aurora Borealis happens when their ancestors decide to play a heavenly game of ball.