Northern Lights
The cause of the northern lights
The northern lights come from solar flares from the sun that reach out long enough to reach the earth.
The best place to see the northern lights
The best place to see them is anywhere far north ranging from Minnesota to the top of Canada, because the more north you are it is more likely to see them
The best time of year to see the lights is when there is around a solar maximum then all the flares come to the earth.
Aurora Borealis
They occur in the North. The Climate would be cold up here. You can get here by car or plane. You could view this just by looking up in the sky. There has been many different folktales about the northern lights which come from the native americans.
Aurora Australias
They occur in the south. The weather would be warmer down here unless you are talking about Antarctica. You get there by plane or boat. You can also view them by just looking at the sky.
Similarities
Basically they are mirror images of each other.
How to forecast the lights
To forecast the lights you need to watch the sun for solar flares. Once you see a solar flare then you can make an assumption to when and if the lights will happen.
The causes of the colors
The sun radiates all visible colors, which is why sunlight appears white. The aurora is caused by charged particles in the solar wind colliding with atmospheric atoms and ions. The color though depends on wavelength of light emitted.