Photo: Francis Anderson
Every year, people are inspired to brave freezing temperatures while attempting to capture the Aurora Borealis. This natural phenomenon beats any man-made light show. Here are ten of the best Aurora Borealis photographs that were taken in 2010 and posted to Flickr under a Creative Commons license.
Aurora borealis - Hattavarre - Troms
Photo: Thomas Roskifte
Colorful Aurora Borealis in Finland
Photo: Visit Finland
No matter how many times we see stunning pictures of the aurora borealis, we are still amazed and entranced by its beauty.
Aurora Borealis
Photo: Odd :)
Northern Lights in Lapland, Finland
Photo: Visit Finland
Solar winds flowing around the Earth provide the energy source behind auroras.
Aurora Borealis timelapse HD
Photo: Tor Even Mathisen
Aurora Borealis - Northern Lights
Photo: Gunnar Þór Gunnarsson
Science can explain the varied colors through photon emissions, but the auroras were mystical and explained in varied shades of magic back in ancient times.
phenomena
Photo: Nick Russill
Auroras were explained in Norse mythology as created by Valkyrior (warlike virgins) riding their horses in the sky while their spears and armor caused the colored flickering lights. Roman mythology credited Aurora, the goddess of dawn, as flying across the night sky, creating Northern Lights to announce the coming of dawn.
a windy night beneath the northern lights
Photo: James Clear
Aurora Australis NASA, International Space Station Science
Photo: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
This is Earth as seen from the International Space Station. Auroras have also been seen around Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune via the Hubble Space Telescope.
We thank all the photographers for sharing these stunning images with us.
