This spectacular photograph captures the intense activity of the world famous Northern Lights as it experiences one of its busiest displays. Solent News / Splash News/Newscom. Find it at Newscom: spnphotosthree716667.
I’ve always wanted to travel north just to get a look at the Aurora Borealis. (Or I suppose I could travel south to see its counterpart, the Aurora Australis.) The pictures of this phenomenon are so spectacular that seeing it in person has to be at least ten times better. Unfortunately, in order to catch a glimpse of the Aurora I’d have to travel waaaaay north/south as the zone in which it usually occurs is between 3-6 degrees longitude. That’s polar bear country.
Polar Bear & Northern Lights. Mark Newman Stock Connection Worldwide/Newscom. Find it at Newscom: scphotos031331.
The beauty of the Aurora is caused by atoms in our atmosphere getting excited by solar winds from space. Usually atoms hold their electrons relatively close to the nucleus. But when an outside source gives the atoms more energy, the electrons move further away from the nucleus. This configuration isn’t especially stable, so once the energy source is removed the electrons jump back to their original spot close to the nucleus and in the process release energy in the form of visible light. That is where we get the Aurora from.
These incredible shots show the whole sky lit up with awesome auroras.....Using a fisheye lens, photographer O Chul Kwon caught a 180 degree view of the sky as curtains of northern lights dance in the sky above. ZUMA Press/Newscom. Find it at Newscom: zumawireworldphotosfour178544.
The different colors of the Aurora come from atoms of nitrogen and oxygen. Oxygen can emit either a green or brownish-red color while nitrogen gives us blue or red. Green is the most common color of the Aurora, followed by pink. Then comes red, yellow, and straight blue is the most rare color of them all to spot.
Looking like a massive firework display, these spectacular northern lights photos show the green and purple colours rippling across the Arctic sky. ZUMA Press/Newscom. Find it at Newscom: zumawireworldphotosthree578072.
No matter what the color though, the Aurora is still a spectacular sight to see!
A band of northern lights illuminates the sky around 60 kilometre south of the northern cape as the sun descends above the horizon near the town of Repvag, Norway, 14 September 2005. Z6908 Patrick Pleul Deutsch Presse Agentur/Newscom. Find it at Newscom: dpaphotos026780.
May 24, 2010 - International Space Station, Southern Indian Ocean - Among the views of Earth afforded astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), surely one of the most spectacular is of the aurora. ZUMA Press/Newscom. Find it at Newscom: zumawireworldphotosthree898801.
A band of northern lights illuminates the sky around 60 kilometre south of the northern cape near the town of Repvag. Z6908 Patrick Pleul Deutsch Presse Agentur/Newscom. Find it at Newscom: dpaphotos026777.
Amateur photographer Tommy Eliassen captures the Northern Lights, a meteor streaking across the sky and the Milky Way all in the same frame. Tommy Eliassen/ZUMA Press/Newscom. Find it at Newscom: zumawirewestphotosfive727027.
Igloo & Northern Lights, Alaska. Mark Newman Stock Connection Worldwide/Newscom. Find it at Newscom: scphotos031402.
This is the Northern Lights bursting into a spectacular display of purple. ZUMA Press/Newscom. Find it at Newscom: zumawirewestphotosfour011250.
If you didn’t get enough of these magnificent pictures, we have more back at Newscom.
Also, there are always more interesting posts to read on FocalPoint:
The Chilling Beauty of Icebergs
Just for Smiles: Sea Turtles, Jellyfish, and Stingrays…Oh My!
Tags: aurora, aurora borealis, just for smiles, northern lights
[...] Visit link: Just for Smiles: Magnificent Pictures of the Aurora Borealis [...]