# Northern/Southern Lights--Corona Discharge?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-southern-lights-corona-discharge/661944>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 26, 2013, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-southern-lights-corona-discharge/661944 "2013-06-26T08:21:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2013, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/northern-southern-lights-corona-discharge/661944/1 "2013-06-26T08:21:47Z")

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I’ve wondered about this…if the mast of a ship can cause St. Elmo’s Fire to appear, can the Earth itself cause the same thing, at the poles, which we see as Aurora Borealis or Aurora Australis?