Spectacular Northern Lights 'The Dance of the Spirits'(photos)

"The dance of the spirits" are one of many ancient names for the astronomical phenomena we call the northern and southern lights. The old Nordic culture said the lights were reflected light from oceans of fire. The Swedish used to think they were huge schools of herring with sunlight shining off of their scales. Other northern indigenous peoples believed that the auroras were places of the dead. Universally the older beliefs and superstitions about the lights in the sky were one of awe and respect.

The Northern Lights, also known as Aurora Borealis, occurs when energy particles from the sun interact with the earth’s magnetic field

Red and pink streaks filled the sky across parts of the country after Earth’s magnetic field was hit by a coronal mass ejection, enabling the Northern Lights to be seen across the southeastern part of the United States.
Good Morning America Photo By Soloman Parker/ABC News 19 hrs ago

The aurora borealis forms an arc outside the window of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 flying at 33,000 feet in the sky south of Anchorage, Alaska, en route to Chicago, early Friday, Sept. 7, 2011. A red light on the plane illuminates one of the jet’s engines. (AP Photo/Peninsula Clarion, M. Scott Moon)

 The aurora borealis, or northern lights, fill the sky above the Takotna, Alaska checkpoint during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Wednesday, March 9, 2011.

 Light from the aurora borealis fills the Big Dipper constellation in the early hours Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011, above trees near Nikiski, Alaska. Scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks are predicting more northern lights displays for the next few days, visible perhaps as far south as Chicago, in the aftermath of solar storms that occurred earlier this week. (AP Photo/Peninsula Clarion, M. Scott Moon)

 In this photo taken Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011, the aurora borealis, or northern lights, light up the sky above the village of Ersfjordbotn, near Tromso, northern Norway. Photo By Keystone, Martial Trezzini Mon, Feb 14, 2011

 

The moon with the aurora borealis or the northern lights are seen on the sky above the village of Ersfjordbotn near Tromso in northern Norway, late on Sunday Feb. 13, 2011. Aurorae are caused by the interaction between energetic charged particles from the Sun and gas molecules in the upper atmosphere of the Earth, about 100 kilometres up. A stream of charged particles, called the solar wind, flows out into space continuously from the Sun at speeds of 400-500 kilometres per second. On reaching Earth, the charged particles are drawn by Earth's magnetic field to the poles, where they collide with gas molecules in the upper atmosphere, causing them to emit light. Photo By Keystone/Martial Trezzini Mon, Feb 14, 2011

KANGERLUSSUAQ, GREENLAND - SEPTEMBER 02: Tourists admire The Aurora Borealis as it glows in the sky September 02, 2007, near the Greenland town of Kangerlussuaq. The Northern Lights most often occurs from September to October and from March to April and are a popular tourist attraction. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

A spectator watches the aurora borealis rise above the Alaska Range, in Denali National Park, Alaska. On Thursday, July 24, 2008, NASA released findings that indicate magnetic explosions about one-third of the way to the moon cause the northern lights, or aurora borealis, to burst in spectacular shapes and colors, and dance across the sky. (AP Photo/M. Scott Moon, File)

An Aurora Borealis spins above the Talkeetna Range and a hay field on Farm Loop Road near Palmer, Alaska, on Friday, Feb. 29, 2008. The center of the circular corona, usually near Earth's north pole sometimes fluctuates further south and can be seen from a lower latitude as in this instance. (AP Photo/Bob Martinson)