

Human: Can you explain the aurora borealis to me?

Assistant: 
Sure! The aurora borealis is a beautiful natural phenomenon that occurs at high latitudes, most commonly near the North Pole, and not infrequently around the South Pole as well. It’s usually known as the northern lights, and it is caused by charged particles from the Sun interacting with the atmosphere. When you see it, it’s typically in the colors green, purple, red, and occasionally white, blue, or yellow. 
Sure, I can try.  The term “aurora borealis” means “northern light”, and it’s caused by the sun interacting with gases in the upper atmosphere of the Earth.  The energy from the sun excites the molecules in those gases, so that they’ll then emit photons.  The result is that it’s possible to see some of these photons as bright flashes in the sky.