The Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights are widely regarded as a Holy Grail for any sky watchers. For those lucky enough to see a display it's all about the beautiful serene colours lighting up the sky.

However what we witnessing is the Earth's magnetic field protecting us from a violent onslaught of energised particles from the Sun, slamming into the planet at 45 million MPH!

Dr Melanie Windridge is a physicist, explorer and author of “Aurora: In Search of the Northern Lights” who has travelled the world to witness the Aurora, and tells us about the phenomena and also the best places to see it.! 

We also talk about fusion, which is the source of the Aurora, and how this could one day lead to unlimited energy here on Earth.

 

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