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Aurora Borealis, Churchill, Canada
Photograph by Norbert Rosing
An aurora borealis glows brightly over Churchill, Canada. Auroras occur when charged particles outside the Earth's atmosphere collide with atoms in the upper atmosphere. The result: a glowing display of curtains, arcs, and bands in the sky. The phenomenon is called aurora borealis or northern lights in the Northern Hemisphere and aurora australis or southern lights in the Southern Hemisphere.
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Swirling Aurora
Photograph by Paul Nicklen
The sky over Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, churns with light from an aurora borealis.
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Aurora Borealis, Manitoba, Canada
Photograph by Norbert Rosing
The northern lights turn the night sky an otherworldly green above Wapusk National Park in Manitoba, Canada.
See photographs from the December 2005 National Geographic story "Refuge in White."
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Yellow-Green Aurora
Photograph by Norbert Rosing
An aurora borealis sends ribbons of yellow-green light through the sky over northern Canada.
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Aurora Borealis, Twilight
Photograph by Norbert Rosing
The northern lights streak across the twilight sky.
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Ghostly Aurora Borealis
Photograph by Norbert Rosing
The aurora borealis illuminates the heavens with ghostly patterns.
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New York Aurora
Photograph by Julie Carragan
An aurora shimmers over Troy, New York, two days after the sun emitted a series of spectacular flares.
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Aurora Borealis, Snow
Photograph by Norbert Rosing
The aurora borealis lights up the sky above a snow-covered Canadian homestead.
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Northern Lights, Churchill, Canada
Photograph by Norbert Rosing
The northern lights arch above the treeline in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.
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Aurora Borealis, Northwest Territories
Photograph by Raymond Gehman
A subdued aurora fills the sky above the Mackenzie River in Canada’s Northwest Territories.
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Northern Lights, Canada
Photograph by Norbert Rosing
Luminous green flames from the aurora borealis flicker in the Canadian sky.
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Aurora Borealis
Photograph by Norbert Rosing
The northern lights spotlight evergreens in Canada.
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Northern Lights, Manitoba, Canada
Photograph by Norbert Rosing
The aurora borealis forms a green curtain above Wapusk National Park in Manitoba, Canada.
See photographs from the December 2005 National Geographic story "Refuge in White."
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Canada Aurora
Photograph by Raymond Gehman
A long exposure shows star trails behind a red-and-green aurora in Canada's Northwest Territories. In the Northern Hemisphere, the phenomenon is called aurora borealis, or northern lights. In the Southern Hemisphere, it's called aurora australis, or southern lights.
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North Pole Aurora
Photograph by Maria Stenzel
An emerald green aurora borealis veils the sky over the North Pole.
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Yellowknife Aurora
Photograph by Paul Nicklen
Light from an aurora borealis swirls over Yellowknife, the capital of Canada's Northwest Territories.
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Northern Canada Aurora
Photograph by Norbert Rosing
A cascade of rose-tinted light surges through the sky in an aurora borealis over northern Canada.
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