Aurora, betur þekkt sem norðurljós og suðurljós sjást einkum að kvöldi og nóttu á nyrstu og syðstu svæðum jarðar. Norðurljósin eru stöðugt yfir nyrstu byggðum og því þekktari en suðurljósin, sem eru nær eingöngu yfir Suðurskautslandinu og hafsvæðum svo að færri sjá þau. Frá Íslandi séð eru norðurljósin mjög algeng. Þar sem norður- og suðurljós tengjast segulsviði jarðar eru þau einnig nefnd segulljós.

Hér má sjá ljósmyndasyrpu af norðurljósum.

Aurora, better known as the Northern or the Southern Lights, becomes visible in the evening and night from the northernmost and southernmost regions of the earth. The phenomenon is constant above the northernmost inhabited areas and widely acknowledged, while the southern lights, almost exclusively occupy Antarctica’s sky and ocean areas far from the reach of most people. The northern lights frequently light Iceland’s night sky but they are rarely seen from the most densely populated areas of the world.  Because the northern and southern lights are closely related to the earth’s magnetic field, they are also identified as magnetic lights.

Here is a series of photographs of the northern lights, in Iceland’s night sky.