Northern lights are called Aurora Borealis. Southern lights would be called
Polar lights (aurora polaris) are a natural phenomenon found in both the northern and southern hemispheres that can be truly awe inspiring. Northern lights are also called by their scientific name, aurora borealis, and southern lights are called aurora australis.Sten Odenwald, author of The 23rd cycle, learning to live with a stormy star (New York, Columbia University Press, c2001), provides insight to how northern lights are formed:un Facts about northern lights: 1  According to Neil Bone (The aurora: sun-earth interactions, 1996), the term aurora borealis--northern dawn--is jointly credited to have first been used by Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655) and Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), who both witnessed a light display on Sept. 12, 1621.