Student captures moment an aurora erupted in the sky

For your daily reminder that nature can be beautiful, a student has captured the magical moment an aurora erupted in the sky.

Aurora borealis – or the northern lights, as they're also known – are mesmerising dancing waves of light that paint the sky green.

They occur after disturbances in the earth’s magnetosphere – the region of space around the earth that is dominated by the planet’s magnetic field.

The disturbances are the result of particles flowing from the sun and interacting with gases in the magnetosphere.

As a professional aurora chaser and photographer, Vincent Ledvina is certainly familiar with this sight. But even he was shocked at the bright and colourful displays he witnessed in recent weeks. See for yourself:

In one clip shared on Valentine's Day, no less, Vincent expresses his shock as the sky erupts with bright green, red and white waves of light.

The photographer, who is currently studying a PhD in space physics at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, captured the incredible footage while out in the wildness of Alaska.

Over on TikTok (@vincentledvina), he described the display as something he's 'never seen before', adding: "One hour ago I recorded this. Still shocked by how bright they got."

Another video shows us the view from directly below the polar lights. "I’ve never seen such strong reds before! What a treat," Vincent wrote.

His clips have received hundreds of comments, with some people left 'speechless' over the spectacular vision.

"The colors are so vibrant," wrote one, while another said, "Wow… speechless."

@vincentledvina/TikTok

A third added: "Everything I read on solar activity has indicated this active cycle is just getting started. It could get spectacularly weird."

Here's hoping – and if it does, no doubt Vincent will be on hand to capture the whole thing on film.

If you want to know a bit more about the man behind the camera, his website explains that he's been fascinated with the natural world and outer space from a young age.

The description continues: "After picking up a camera for the first time when he was 16, he fell in love with photography, especially landscape and astrophotography.

"In high school, he took his first aurora photo and was hooked on the thrill of the chase and the science behind the lights, entering undergraduate studies at the University of North Dakota (UND).

@vincentledvina/TikTok

"At UND, Vincent worked as a STEM Ambassador for the North Dakota Space Grant Consortium, helped found the North Dakota Dual Aurora Camera (NoDDAC) project, and served as the president of the Northern Sky Astronomical Society.

"He graduated with his degree in May 2022."

Now he's in a graduate program pursuing his PhD while living in Alaska, where he's able to continue his passion and bring this beautiful imagery to the world.

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