From ancient times the Aurora Borealis has intrigued mankind and this wondrous sight of the Northern sky features prominently in the mythology and folklore of those living in northerly latitudes. The Northern Lights have been described and imaginatively explained by the Inuit peoples of Canada and Greenland, various Native American tribes; there is even reference to the aurora in the Old Testament and such noted scholars as Aristotle, Galileo, Descartes, Halley, Goethe and Benjamin Franklin were all fascinated by this night-sky phenomenon and wrote treatises on it.

Even in more modern times, there are some colourful theories regarding the cause of the auroras. For example, people in mid-west America have widely believed the Northern Lights to be reflection of sunlight from the polar ice, despite the perpetual darkness of the winter months at Arctic latitudes. Another imaginative notion has been that auroral light results from giant icebergs colliding in the polar seas.

Some cultures have welcomed the celestial lights as boding some good fortune; others have greatly feared them as a messenger of impending doom.