Visible from the southern areas of Australia, the Aurora Australis, like the Aurora Borealis in the northern hemisphere, is a display of coloured lights which appears in the night sky around the South Pole. Auroras are caused by sun spots which emit charged particles. These particles stream towards the earth and collide with the molecules in the earth's upper atmosphere. The particles are attracted by the magnetic force of the poles and produce light when they descend into the atmosphere.