Nothern lights.

White aura Finland.

 

Alaska.

Iceland colour splash.

Below preparing for the event. 

Other nothern regions. 

The northern lights are an atmospheric phenomenon that's regarded as the Holy Grail of skywatching.

The northern lights, or the aurora borealis, are beautiful dancing ribbons of light that have captivated people for millennia. But for all its beauty, this spectacular light show is a rather violent event. 

The northern lights are created when energized particles from the sun slam into Earth's upper atmosphere at speeds of up to 45 million mph (72 million kph), but our planet's magnetic field protects us from the onslaught. 

As Earth's magnetic field redirects the particles toward the poles — there are southern lights, too, — the dramatic process transforms into a cinematic atmospheric phenomenon that dazzles and fascinates scientists and skywatchers alike.

At any given moment, the sun is ejecting charged particles from its corona, or upper atmosphere, creating the solar wind. When that wind slams into Earth's ionosphere, or upper atmosphere, the aurora is born. In the Northern Hemisphere, the phenomenon is called the northern lights (aurora borealis), while in the Southern Hemisphere, it's called the southern lights (aurora australis).