Aurora Photos: The Best Pictures Of The Northern And Southern Lights

There have been some stunning photos (and videos) taken of the aurora this year, and we just can't get enough of them.

So as the seasons change and the days grow shorter, it's a good time not only to look back at some of our favorite images of this natural phenomenon, but check out some new pictures, too.

NASA says that more geomagnetic storms occur in the fall and spring, and this is a great time for viewing the aurora borealis or australis (if you're lucky enough to be in an area where it's visible!)

According to the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, an aurora is caused by the collision of electrons from space with atoms and molecules of gases (like oxygen and nitrogen) from the Earth's atmosphere. This collision results in a transfer of energy to the oxygen's electrons, and, as a result, quick bursts of light are emitted. A great number of these collisions create the light that's visible to the naked eye.

The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, is seen in the northern hemisphere, whereas the aurora australias, or southern lights, is visible in the southern latitudes.

Here's a gallery of some images of the aurora, from space and from terra firma. Be sure to vote for your favorite!

Comments

[redmaple]

12:53 PM on 10/02/2011

Pictures are nice but the real beauty is seing them moving.

[ILoveGreatDanes]

12:23 PM on 10/02/2011

Nothing beats living in Alaska and seeing them for yourself. I can't wait until springtime when I can move back!

[karen lyons kalmenson]

08:01 PM on 10/02/2011

i love great danes too!!!

[Kay Nicks]

12:51 AM on 10/02/2011

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more.
~George Gordon, Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

[Kassandra]

10:11 AM on 10/04/2011

I'm sorta souring on "man" altogether these days..........
Nice poem tho, thanks

[Kay Nicks]

03:22 PM on 10/04/2011

Thanks Kassandra...I hear you. I have my days too...

[The Platzner Post]

12:34 PM on 10/01/2011

Wow is right!!! Awe-inspiring!!!

[V-Bottom]

12:25 PM on 10/01/2011

same here....

[coreten]

10:32 AM on 10/01/2011

They are all beatiful, but the one with the moon and mountains is gorgeous.

[karen lyons kalmenson]

07:50 AM on 10/01/2011

in spite of all the bloodshed
and turmoil on the ground
the wonder of our planet
still astound

[Zaida Adams]

06:00 AM on 10/01/2011

With the sun at the peak of it's solar cycle, I hope to see more of this over the next few years.So beautiful.

[straightuptalker]

04:56 AM on 10/01/2011

"...results in a transfer of energy to the oxygen's electrons, and, as a result, quick bursts of light are emitted"

Well, keep the freakin ghost hunters away, they'll swear these lights are caused by "ghost energy" which to them proves Alaska is haunted. Sorry, couldn't resist, and they are truly stunning photos.

[pupmobile]

03:07 AM on 10/01/2011

Beautiful!! One of our friends saw them a few years ago and thought the world was coming to an end.He didn't have a clue as to what it was but he said it was the most beautiful sight that he had ever seen in his life. A few hours later he found out what it was and felt so privilaged to have been able to witness this.

[freddsky]

02:13 AM on 10/01/2011

"....I turn to see the northern lights behind the wing, horizons seem to beckon me, learned how to cry too young, so now I live to sing..."

[Fi]

01:23 AM on 10/01/2011

Is'nt Mother Nature wonderful, and she must be a Liberal, letting us see it all for free.

[Imzadi]

06:57 AM on 10/01/2011

Indeed, Fi. Indeed.

[redmaple]

12:54 PM on 10/02/2011

Arent' Klingons' republicans?

[Imago1122]

11:23 PM on 09/30/2011

What stunning pictures. I see this and I wonder if maybe it's true that everything is love...

[BuckyJamesDio]

11:21 PM on 09/30/2011

Absolutely awe-inspiring and mesmerizing. Going to Alaska just to see these has been on my List O' Things I Gotta Do for quite some time now (and by that I mean "pretty much always").

I long to lay on my back in a pleasantly transcendental state (yeah, you know what I mean) and just soak in the beauty.

Someday ...

[ABXNOMORE]

07:25 AM on 10/01/2011

Sounds wonderful unless you run into Palin or one of her cult followers while you are there.

[coreten]

10:28 AM on 10/01/2011

Still would be worth it.

[modernman55]

11:03 PM on 09/30/2011

That is so beautiful!