Our Sun is a complicated mechanism, made up of three basic layers moving in opposition to each other. The frictions and pressures of being a star lead to all sorts of interesting quirks of physics, one of which is sunspots. These dark scabs on the surface of the star are actually regions in the gassy surface that are so cold that no light is emitted. The spots help to emit flares of fire off the surface of the Sun, known as CMEs (coronal mass ejections), and the CMEs get caught in the solar wind that radiates out from the Sun into space. The wind takes a few days to reach Earth, and zips by at speeds too complicated to explain, let alone imagine. Electrons spat out by the Sun hit the Earth and swirl above the poles like giant whirlpools. The energy caused by the twisting electrons creates the northern lights, huge curtains of glittery shimmer that can only be seen properly at extreme latitudes. Since 2002, I've been traveling to the Arctic Circle to capture the phenomenon.