The Aurora Borealis, aka 'Northern Lights' is an amazing night sky phenomenon, seen only at extreme polar latitudes. The first time I saw an Aurora was in 1999 while on location in Northern British Columbia, shooting a documentary on the Canadian raincoast. It was clearly visible, but not in spectacular fashion. The second time I saw it was a few years later in Iqaluit on Baffin Island above the arctic circle in Northeast Canada. On this occasion, the Aurora displayed itself in truly amazing fashion. Though Iqaluit is the capitol of Nunavut province, it is a small community, accessible only by sea or air link from Montreal. The manager of the hotel where we were staying drove us to a park outside of town to give us a view of the dancing lights of the Aurora. She did warn us to be on the lookout for roaming polar bears, which apparently are quite common in that area and are very aggressive and dangerous predators.
Anyway, that night in Iqaluit, in the park away from the city's lights, the Aurora was truly awe inspiring. For more than an hour, we stayed there gazing up at the night sky, mesmerized by the Aurora's immense natural beauty. I would not choose to live in the remote, far north regions where one can experience the Aurora regularly, but I am grateful for the opportunity I've had to see it twice in my life.
Here is a link to a beautiful, awe inspiring video of the Aurora
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG8gZcAzfDI
Here is a link to a brief video that explains the physics behind the Aurora phenomenon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJBrMXSn-hU
Here is a link to a video of Aurora images accompanied by a wonderful music track.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sU6CpQz-D4
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