Categories: AstrophotosAurora

Dancing Polar Auroras Captured by Thierry Legault

Aurora over Komagfjord, Norway (northern end of Scandinavia, 70°N). Credit and Copyright: Thierry Legault. Used by permission

One of our favorite astrophotographers, Thierry Legault from France, took a trip to Finland and Norway so he could see and photograph the Northern Lights for the first time. Socked in with clouds in Finland, Thierry traveled to the Alta region in Norway to find clear skies. “We were rewarded with incredible auroras,” he said via Skype. “At moments, the auroras moved like curtains in the wind, too fast to be photographed!”

See below for a stunning video compilation of two nights of observing the Northern Lights over the Kamagfjord in Norway, as well as more gorgeous images of aurora and a view of the fjord in the “twilight” of midday, since there was no sunrise that far north for several days in December.

Aurora and clouds over Komagfjord in Norway, December 2012. Credit and Copyright: Thierry Legault. Used by permission.

Stunning aurora Komagfjord in Norway, December 2012. Credit and copyright: Thierry Legault. Used by permission.

Fisheye view of the aurora in Norway, December 2012. Credit and copyright: Thierry Legault. Used by permission

Komagfjord at midday (no sunrise in December). Credit and copyright: Thierry Legault. Used by perission

While this was Thierry’s first-ever view of the Aurora Borealis, we can expect this won’t be his last. “I am becoming addicted,” he said, “just like with eclipses!”

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See the full set of Thierry’s images of his aurora expedition to Norway and Finland on his website, and we extend our thanks to Theirry for continuing to share his wonderful images with us.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy has been with Universe Today since 2004, and has published over 6,000 articles on space exploration, astronomy, science and technology. She is the author of two books: "Eight Years to the Moon: the History of the Apollo Missions," (2019) which shares the stories of 60 engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make landing on the Moon possible; and "Incredible Stories from Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos" (2016) tells the stories of those who work on NASA's robotic missions to explore the Solar System and beyond. Follow Nancy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Nancy_A and and Instagram at and https://www.instagram.com/nancyatkinson_ut/