Auroras are created in many shapes, colors, and locations. On the Earth, green auroras are typically located at lower altitudes where there is a higher concentration of atomic oxygen. You can also find red, yellow, pink, and blue auroras on earth due to different atmospheric compositions and our eye's different sensitivity to these particle interactions.
Scientifically, auroras are natural light phenomena in the sky, usually seen at the Arctic and Antarctic regions of a planet. Caused by charged particles entering the atmosphere and interacting with atmospheric particles, aurora's light up the Earth's sky and can also be found on other planets inside and outside of our solar system.
Here are some of our favorite photos of green auroras:
1) Iceland - 1
The stunning reflection of this aurora across the smooth ice of this lake is breathtaking.
2) Iceland - 2This photo was taken in 2014 in the southern tip of Iceland near a town named Auster-Skaftafellssysla.
3) Iceland - 3In March 2012, a massive solar storm bombarded the Earth's magnetic field. As a result of this sudden increase in radiation, the northern lights light up the sky with a brightness and texture that is rare to see.
4) Canada - 1 (Yukon)
The low-hanging clouds in this photo, illuminated by the sparkling aurora, show an eery and mysterious Yukon landscape.
5) Canada - 2 (Manitoba)
This photo took 3rd place in the Beauty in the Night Sky category contest ran by the Smithsonian Magazine in 2013. The bright light piercing the cloud cover and aurora is a meteorite!
6) Canada - 3 (Yellowknife, Northwest Territories)
This September photo shows the calm water paired with the bright star trails make this photo feel very magical. It also helps that the aurora looks just like wispy clouds.
7) Norway-1The mixture of light, combined with the green reflection in the snow cover is astounding.
8) Norway-2The Northern Lights turned the sky green and red on this cold night in 2012.
13) Alaska - 2 (Chagach National Forest)
This photo from the Portage Valley of the Chagach National Forest in Alaska shows the aurora as a dense, thick cloud of green light.
14) Alaska - 3
Captured in March 2013, this photo shows crystal-clear skies just east of Fairbanks (notice the light pollution beyond the mountains in the center of the photo).
15) Alaska - 4
The diversity in color of this image is phenomenal.
16) Space - 1Captured from the International Space Station, this view from above shows the aurora just above the atmosphere of Earth with different components of the Space Station on the top of the photo.
17) Space - 2
This artist's impression, inspired by NASA, shows the northern auroral oval centered on the northern geomagnetic pole over northern Canada.
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