The northern lights were seen across the country, including New Mexico on Sunday night. KOAT ulocal member Jonathan Lujan captured images of the northern lights in Mora County. What are the northern lights?The northern lights, also known by their scientific name, the aurora borealis, are caused by electrically-charged particles from the Sun interacting with Earth's magnetic field.During strong geomagnetic storms, large amounts of these particles slam into the magnetic field and get channeled toward the north & south poles. There, they bombard Earth's atmosphere, releasing energy in the form of light.According to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, Sunday's vivid display originated from a massive release of plasma from the Sun the previous Friday.