If witnessing amazing natural phenomena is something you enjoy, you need to see the northern lights at some point in your life. Formally known as aurora borealis, these colorful displays of light can be seen in many northern locations around the world. Here’s how they are produced, as Travel and Leisure describes:

The northern lights are an atmospheric phenomenon in which undulating waves of green, purple, and red lights dance across the sky. They occur when waves of energized particles from the sun called solar wind bombard our atmosphere. Thanks to Earth’s magnetic field, we’re protected from the impact down here on the surface. The particles travel along the magnetic field towards the poles of the planet, where an energy exchange produces the colorful lights in the sky.

In a list that includes three places in Alaska, Isle Royale National Park, Maine, Olympic National Park in Washington, and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Minnesota's own Grand Portage and Voyageur National Park rank among the top 10 places to see the northern lights in the U.S. 

Credit goes to our spectacular dark skies and ample viewing areas!

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