Final answer:
Aurorae are natural light displays in Earth's sky caused by charged particles from the solar wind interacting with the planet's magnetic field and atmosphere, resulting in the emission of colorful lights.
Step-by-step explanation:
Aurorae, known as aurora borealis in the Northern Hemisphere and aurora australis in the Southern Hemisphere, are caused by charged particles from the solar wind interacting with Earth's magnetic fields. The colorful glow in the sky that is often observed at high latitudes is the result of these particles colliding with atoms and ions in the Earth's atmosphere, causing them to fluoresce.
The most prominent colors seen in an aurora, red and green, come from the glowing of oxygen molecules and ions, while purples and blues are typically from nitrogen.
Aurorae are most commonly witnessed near the Earth's magnetic poles, where the magnetic field lines allow the solar wind to reach the upper atmosphere. Here, the charged particles are accelerated along the magnetic field lines and emit light as they encounter the molecules of air. This natural phenomenon is a result of the interaction between the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere, rather than sunlight reflecting off ice crystals, the atmospheric greenhouse effect, or the destruction of the ozone layer.