Northern Lights make rare visit here

This photo from Mary Katheryn Gepner was taken in Ringgold County.

The Northern Lights, also known as the aurora borealis, is an atmospheric phenomenon that occurs when energized particles from the sun collide with Earth’s upper atmosphere at speeds of 45 million miles per hour. However, Earth’s magnetic field redirects the particles to the poles, which in turn, creates the colorful lights that we call the Northern Lights. The colors made by this process depend on the chemical composition. We see the colors red and green the most because of the molecules in our atmosphere. The red color is created by the nitrogen molecules, while the green color is created by the oxygen molecules. A rare geomagnetic storm caused the lights to be seen this far south.