Northen lights is called Aurora Boriolis, what is southern lights called ?
96111
Aurora Australis - Australis is the Latin word for "South" or "Southern", thus, the Southern Lights instead of the Northern Lights.
897581
Stars near the north pole seem as if they are moving in a circle around the point in the sky that would be directly up.  You can find pics of this on a lot of astronomy websites.  Here is en elapsed time photo of the north pole at night:  http://astro.wsu.edu/worthey/astro/html/im-sky/north-pole-star-trails.jpg
354564
yes there is. Solaris is the North Star.  As you may realise by the name if you can spot it it will point you towards the north direction so long as you are in the northern hemisphere.  It is the only star in the sky that does not appear to move as observed from planet earth.
903500
Aurora Borialis \n\nI'm not sure if it's spelled right, but you see it best in the winter and only at night.\n\nSue
369745
The Earth's axis is tilted 23 degrees. Therefore, when it is winter in the Northern hemisphere, the North pole is tilted away ffrom the sun and experiences a six month night, while the South Pole has a six month long day. Then at the Spring and Autumn equinoxes, both poles get the same amount of sunlight for a few minutes at Noon.
533335
Depending on how old you are, it could be just because of the 11-year "solar cycle".  Currently we are near the "solar minimum" which is the time of least magnetic activity on the sun.  In another 3 or 4 years the cycle will be on the upswing and more aurora activity will be visible all over the Earth. \n\n Another possibility is that the ever increasing amount of light-pollution makes objects in the night sky harder to see.
338617
the Aurora Borealis is an awe inspiring sight...lemme tell ya, they occur, as stated above at 11 year cycles. but can be seen almost nightly in higher latitudes. One family I know was so inspired by the mysterious lights in the Northern sky, they named their first daughter after them. Her name is Aurora Dawn
57683
Facing south when in the northern hemisphere, and facing north when in the southern hemisphere. That gives them the greatest amount of sun during the winter.
209485
1)In the space there is no direction.So it matters not what direction you call by what name.\n2) On the Earth , on the other hand , it does matter and matters a lot; and the reasons are too obvious to quote.\n3) On the earth the bearings are taken with the help of fixed stars in the Sky and it has no racial bias.\n4) In this context the POLAR STAR acquires importance. The North pole of the earth is directly pointing towards this unmoving star in the sky. So much so that if you are standing exactly on the north pole, the Pole star or the North Star will be directly above you and the angular distance between you and the star will be Zero. That is exactly how the polar expedition leaders find out if they have reached their goal correctly or not.\nAs you move towards the South pole the angular distance increases to reach 180 degrees and the pole star disappears from your sight.
432176
Northern lights originate from our sun. During large explosions and flares, huge quantities of solar particles are thrown out of the sun and into deep space. These plasma clouds travel through space with speeds varying from 300 to 1000 kilometers per second. \n\nBut even with such speeds (over a million kilometer per hour), it takes these plasma clouds two to three days to reach our planet. When they are closing in on Earth, they are captured by Earth's magnetic field (the magnetosphere) and guided towards Earth's two magnetic poles; the geomagnetic south pole and the geomagnetic north pole\n\nOn their way down towards the geomagnetic poles, the solar particles are stopped by Earth's atmosphere, which acts as an effective shield against these deadly particles.\n\nWhen the solar particles are stopped by the atmosphere, they collide with the atmospheric gases present, and the collision energy between the solar particle and the gas molecule is emitted as a photon - a light particle. And when you have many such collisions, you have an aurora - lights that may seem to move across the sky. \n\nIn order for an observer to actually see the aurora with the naked eye, about a 100 million photons are required.
975410
Aurora are generate by charged particles captured by the terrestrial magnetic field impacting atoms in the upper atmosphere and generating flourescence.  They constantly shift shape and color as the magnetic fields shift around and the particle flux changes. As such, asking how long an aurora lasts is akin to asking how long a cloud  in a hurricane lasts; the question itself is too vague to answer with confidence.
465188
Aurora can also look like waves or ripples going through the sky.  I think radiating away from the pole.  That's the only kind I've seen, but it was cool and really weird.
242740
I've heard that the sky turns a type of dirty greenish greyish colour before a severe hailstorm, or a tornado.  But I'd like to think that the sky would do that because of the types of clouds, and the absorption and reflection of light.  I've never seen it myself to say for sure. \n\nI've also been told that there are green flashes that apprear on the sea (but the sea level has to be right) around sunset.  I've never seen one of those either. Apparently, it's one of those must-see things.\n\nAnd then again, another place where greens exist is in the northern lights (Aurora Borealis)...  There are greens and they're gorgeous.  Now I've witnessed that, and it's simply GORGEOUS!!\n\nlike you said, there's always the good old rainbow!  I've seen that too :p\n\ncheers!!
418176
Yes they can! In 1985 one particular aurora was seen as far south as New Mexico. It depends on the strength of the aurora, etc. I strongly suggest you look at the University of Alaska Fairbanks web site for some more information.\n\nhttp://www.uaf.edu
146984
Northern lights originate from our sun. During large explosions and flares, huge quantities of solar particles are thrown out of the sun and into deep space. These plasma clouds travel through space with speeds varying from 300 to 1000 kilometers per second. \n\nBut even with such speeds (over a million kilometer per hour), it takes these plasma clouds two to three days to reach our planet. When they are closing in on Earth, they are captured by Earth's magnetic field (the magnetosphere) and guided towards Earth's two magnetic poles; the geomagnetic south pole and the geomagnetic north pole.\n\n\n\nOn their way down towards the geomagnetic poles, the solar particles are stopped by Earth's atmosphere, which acts as an effective shield against these deadly particles.\n\nWhen the solar particles are stopped by the atmosphere, they collide with the atmospheric gases present, and the collision energy between the solar particle and the gas molecule is emitted as a photon - a light particle. And when you have many such collisions, you have an aurora - lights that may seem to move across the sky. \n\nIn order for an observer to actually see the aurora with the naked eye, about a 100 million photons are required.\n\n\nFor more info :-\nhttp://www.northern-lights.no/english/what/cause.shtml
577784
Aurora are not seasonal.  You see them better in winter perhaps because the sky is clearer and if you live VERY far north because the sky is darker (sun does not dip as low below the horizon in summer as you go closer to the pole). \n\nAurora come from big streams of solar protons, and these events don't care if it is summer, fall, winter or spring. If anything, they might be brighter in summer, since the magnetic pole you are near will have a more direct path to the sun.\n\nI bet there are Aurora watching websites with recommendations, but you should just need a large proton flux and dark, clear skies.\n\nYou can look at solar activity at the source website below to decide if it is a good time for aurora spotting.\n\nI also found this page.  It is meant for Western Canada, but the hints about Kp index (available on the spaceweather site) should still work wherever you are!
1161568
Northern lights are natures way of human entertainment. They are casused by the U.V. rays from the sun which affects the gases in our atmisphere which causes Aurora Borrealis or the Norhern Lights. Different colors of the Aurora means different gases. You can gaze one if you live in the country side with no lights that may distract them.