Once an auroral sub-storm is produced, the first faint glimmers seen in the horizon soon transform into arcing pulses of light. These arcs are aligned with the magnetic field and begin to streak further into the sky until they seem to meet directly overhead, forming a domed curtain. Then the colors suddenly break apart into curls, shimmers, fingers, or fiery pulses of either diffuse multi-colored lights or patches of more neutral greens, yellows, and blues. The lights seem to change and turn on and off every 5-10 minutes. The lights extend 600 miles above the planet.
People say they ve heard sound coming from the aurora.
Scientists say it s impossible. Sounds generated in space take too long to reach Earth, and air inside auroral displays is much too thin to support sound in the first place. Cold does not make the northern lights any brighter. Sunspot activity reached a peak in 1991, creating large numbers of auroral displays that year. It s unclear if increased solar activity has added to global warming, but scientists agree that when there are fewer sunspots and no aurora, it s always colder in northern regions.