The ethereal dance of greens, purples, and blues that illuminates high-latitude night skies represents one of nature's most spectacular displays of particle physics in action. Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) begins approximately 93 million miles away on the sun's surface, where violent eruptions called coronal mass ejections hurl charged particles primarily electrons and protons toward Earth at speeds reaching one million miles per hour. Our planet's magnetic field, generated by the movement of molten iron in the outer core, acts as a shield that redirects most of these particles around Earth, but some become trapped and funneled along magnetic field lines toward the polar regions. As these energetic particles collide with gas molecules in our upper atmosphere at altitudes between 60-250 miles, they transfer energy, temporarily exciting oxygen and nitrogen atoms which then release this energy as the colorful light we observe oxygen producing the common green and rare red displays, while nitrogen creates blue and purple hues. The intensity and location of these light shows follow an 11-year solar cycle of activity, with the most dramatic displays occurring during solar maximum when the sun's surface is most active, allowing viewers in locations as far south as the northern United States to occasionally witness a phenomenon that has inspired scientific curiosity, cultural mythology, and artistic expression across human history. Shutdown123