Final answer:
The northern and southern lights, known as the Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis, occur in the ionosphere due to the collision of charged particles from the solar wind with atmospheric molecules and ions.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis, also known as the northern and southern lights, are natural phenomena occurring in the atmosphere near the Earth's magnetic poles. These lights are the result of charged particles from the solar wind colliding with molecules and ions in the ionosphere. The particles are guided by Earth's magnetic field towards the poles where they produce the beautiful light displays. The auroras are typically visible in high latitude regions such as Canada, Sweden, and Finland but not from locations far from the poles like South Africa.