If you’ve been lucky enough to see the Southern Lights or the Aurora Australis lighting up the sky -  here’s what’s really going on up there.

It all starts with the sun. The sun constantly sends out a stream of charged particles known as the solar wind. Sometimes, it releases an even bigger burst called a coronal mass ejection - and that’s when things get exciting.

When those particles reach Earth, our magnetic field pulls them down toward the poles, where they collide with gases like oxygen and nitrogen in the upper atmosphere. Those collisions release energy in the form of light - that’s the beautiful glow we see dancing across the night sky.

The colours depend on which gas is hit - oxygen gives off green and red, while nitrogen creates blue and pink hues. So the next time the southern lights put on a show, remember - you’re watching the Earth and the sun literally spark together.

Here's how to capture it... 

Source: YouTube/BOM  Picture Credit: Facebook: Sarah Jayne