The beautiful dancing waves of light 'Aurora Borealis,' also known as the Northern Lights have long captivated humanity. Beautiful pictures of this natural occurrence often go viral on social media whenever people get a glimpse of this eye-catching display. But for all its beauty, researchers are still working to solve the mystery behind this spectacular light show. Galileo Galilei coined the term, 'Aurora Borealis,' after Aurora, the Roman goddess of morning. According to the most widely accepted theory, this phenomenon is the result of electrically charged solar particles interacting with particles in the Earth's atmosphere. The Sun continuously produces a solar wind of charged particles. The magnetic field directs these charged particles to the Earth's polar regions, where they collide with atmospheric molecules (such as nitrogen and oxygen), generating light. The colours of the aurora are affected by the type of gas particles in the Earth's atmosphere with which the solar wind particles collide. (All photos: Flickr)