The flickering light caused by the Sun's radiation that is visible from the Earth's poles is known as the Aurora. Aurora, also called the polar lights or aurora borealis (in the Northern Hemisphere) and aurora australis (in the Southern Hemisphere), is a natural light display that occurs in the high-latitude regions near the Earth's magnetic poles.
The Sun emits a stream of charged particles called the solar wind, which consists of electrons and protons. When these charged particles from the Sun interact with the Earth's magnetic field, they get funneled towards the polar regions. As the charged particles approach the Earth's atmosphere near the poles, they collide with atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, primarily oxygen and nitrogen.
These collisions excite the atoms and molecules, causing them to release energy in the form of light. This phenomenon creates the beautiful, flickering lights of different colors seen in the sky. The specific colors observed depend on the type of gas particles involved and the altitude at which the interactions occur. Oxygen typically produces green and red colors, while nitrogen can create blue and purple hues.
The flickering nature of the lights is a result of the constantly changing interactions between the solar wind particles and the Earth's magnetic field. The intensity and appearance of the aurora can vary greatly, influenced by factors such as the Sun's activity, the strength of the Earth's magnetic field, and atmospheric conditions.