3. In Norse mythology the Valkyries (immortal, war-like virgins) would come galloping across the night sky upon their horses equipped with helmets, spears and armor that would glow and shimmer in the darkness. These lights, colored red, blue, violet and green, would spread in curtains from horizon to horizon, amazing the mortals below.
This is how the Vikings explained a phenomenon we now call the aurora borealis, or the Northern Lights. The lights are usually visible in the sky from the northern latitudes though under unusual conditions they can be seen as far south as Florida and Mexico. A similar phenomenon known as the aurora australis (or the Southern Lights) can be appreciated from the southern latitudes. Historically these have been less easily observed by people, however, because of the smaller land mass and lower populations in the area of the South pole when compared to the North pole.