Aurora Pictures: Best Fall Photos of Northern Lights

Purple Haze

Photograph courtesy Kimball Chen

Rays of deep violet edged in lime green are mirrored in the still water of Southland, New Zealand, on October 9.

Earth's magnetic field largely deflects the sun's charged particles, but is weaker at the poles of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Northern and southern auroras typically happen at the same times and are mirror images of one another, moving across polar skies in the same colors and patterns, only reversed. The mirroring of a motion or brightness change happens in less than a fraction of a second.

(More pictures: "Multicolored Auroras Sparked by Double Sun Blast.")

Published October 23, 2012

Auroral Gleam

Photograph courtesy David Clapp

A soft auroral gleam meanders above the rocks of Norway's Lofoten Islands on October 15. "The ambient light levels from the aurora is all that lights the scene," photographer David Clapp wrote on spaceweather.com.

The vibrant colors strewn across the sky can be compared to streams of electrons inside an old-fashioned cathode ray tube television. Electrons striking phosphorus-coated tubes inside those TVs also create luminous colors and moving patterns.

(See "Auroras Pictured in HD From High-Flying Balloons.")

Published October 23, 2012

Sunset Reflections

Photograph by Frank Olsen, Your Shot

Shoots of green light grow in the sky after sunset on October 3 near Sortland, Norway.

The brightness of the sun can obscure auroras, but a night sky is an open stage for the dance of lights. (See "Aurora Pictures—Solar Storms Light Up Arctic Night.")

Published October 23, 2012

Green Power

Photograph courtesy Audun Dahl

Like a painter’s brushstroke, an aurora the color of jade soars over a windmill in Smøla, Norway, on October 9.

"When the outburst was right above me, I used the windmill to symbolize the meaning of green power," photographer Audun Dahl wrote on spaceweather.com.

Green is the most common auroral color, forming due to collisions with molecular oxygen at about 60 miles (96 kilometers) above Earth. (Also see "Aurora Pictures: Earth-Shield Cracks Spur Surprises.")

Published October 23, 2012

Neon "River"

Photograph by Bjorn Anders Nymoen, My Shot

A neon "river" surges across the sky over Nesoddtangen, Norway, on October 13.

Although sightings of auroras borealis have been reported as far south as New Orleans, northern regions with little light pollution and crisp air offer clearer and more frequent views. (See "Aurora Pictures: Rare Northern Lights Seen in U.S. South.")

Published October 23, 2012

Sky Ripples

Photograph by Bjorn Anders Nymoen, My Shot

An aurora over Nesoddtangen, Norway, billows out into the distance on October 9.

Some auroras appear unmoving, while others ripple, twist, and disappear, taking a new shape in a few minutes time. A pulsating aurora, which often occurs after midnight, flashes every few seconds.

(Also see "Aurora Pictures: 'Severe' Sun Storm Brightens Skies.")

Published October 23, 2012

Sky Curtain

Photograph by Frank Olsen, Your Shot

An aurora casts a thick curtain across the sky outside Sortland, Norway, on October 3. Such curtains can reach about 620 miles (about a thousand kilometers) into the atmosphere.

Auroras also occur on other planets with atmospheres and energetic particles. Venus, for instance, has irregular auroras, and planets like Jupiter and Saturn have auroras shaped like oval crowns.

(Watch a time-lapse video of auroras seen from an airplane.)

Published October 23, 2012

"Great Outburst"

Photograph by Frank Olsen, Your Shot

A cocoon of purple and green envelops Norway's Hadseløya island on September 19. "A great outburst of aurora borealis filled the whole sky," photographer Frank Olsen wrote on spaceweather.com.

Written records of auroras date back more than two thousand years. (See video: "Intense Auroras Fueled by Sun Storm.")

Published October 23, 2012

Misty Morning

Photograph by Norman Tam, My Shot

Misty green auroras streak the morning sky on August 21 in Yellowknife, capital of Canada's Northwest Territories—and a self-styled capital of aurora tourism.

Intense auroral activity can cause power outages and electronic equipment malfunctions—but auroral currents can also sometimes power radios, phones, and other transmitters.

(See "As Sun Storms Ramp Up, Electric Grid Braces for Impact [2011].")

Published October 23, 2012

"Stunning" Sky Show

Photograph courtesy Jennifer Brindley

A violet aurora drapes across the sky near Port Washington, Wisconsin, on September 30.

"Tonight I wasn't expecting auroras," photographer Jennifer Brindley wrote on her blog. But after watching a static green band for an hour, "the show got started, and it was one of the most stunning displays I have ever seen."

(See: "Huge Solar Storm Triggers Unusual Auroras.")

Published October 23, 2012

Iceland Lights

Photograph by Snorri Gunnarsson, My Shot

Auroras, like gossamer in the sky, glimmer over Iceland's Thingvellir National Park on September 10.

"Aurora season [began] early in Iceland this year," photographer Snorri Gunnarsson wrote on spaceweather.com. Auroral activity occurs in cycles and peaks roughly every 11 years, in tandem with the sun's magnetic-activity cycle. The next peak period is predicted for 2013.

Published October 23, 2012

"More Aurora Pictures: Solar Flare Sparks 'Snakes,' 'Spears.'"

Photograph by Darryl Reid

Published October 23, 2012