Dancing Polar Auroras Captured by Thierry Legault

By Nancy Atkinson - December 30, 2012 at 7:05 PM UTC | Planetary Science
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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.

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

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

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

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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!"

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 Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com