A colorful aurora illuminated the night sky above Skógafoss waterfall in Iceland, captured by a photographer in a single 5-second exposure in April 2025. The display of northern lights ranks high on many people's wish lists, though such sightings remain difficult to achieve.
Viewing an aurora requires high solar activity, dark and clear skies, and typically a location at high latitude. The northern lights are more commonly observed than their southern counterpart, largely because less landmass exists in the Southern Hemisphere near the Antarctic Circle.
Auroras form when charged particles from the solar wind are captured by Earth's magnetosphere and guided by the planet's magnetic field toward the poles, where they collide with atmospheric gases. Different colors indicate interactions with different gases at different altitudes—oxygen produces red and green hues, while nitrogen creates blue and pink tones.
