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Colorful aurora borealis lights up Alaskan sky
Spencer Dant traveled to Twelvemile Summit and filmed a video that shows the northern lights. (Credit: Spencer Dant via Storyful)
ALASKA - The Southern and Northern lights pulled off spectacular shows in the skies over Tasmania and Alaska earlier this week.
Spencer Dant, who traveled to Twelvemile Summit in Central, Alaska, filmed a video that showed off the aurora borealis.
"This was an immensely colorful, fast-moving show with two intense substorms," Dant wrote in a Twitter post on Sept. 7 that featured the video.
The video showed off the aurora borealis’ striking, emerald green hue.
Dant told FOX Television Stations he is still in Alaska and is hoping for "another good show" before he leaves.
"Every aurora has its own personality and some are brighter than others, but this one was especially bright and vibrant with such vivid colors and fast-rolling and sweeping motions across the sky," Dant told FOX. "I was surprised that it was so bright because our data indicated that it was fairly weak, but we were in the right place to see it at its best. When it was at its most intense I just laid on the ground on my back completely ignoring my camera and watched it swirl around above me. The aurora is much taller and wider in person than the camera makes it look - it takes up the entire sky and moves so quickly that you feel like you’re surrounded. It’s a really amazing experience."
Meanwhile, another dazzling display occurred in Tasmania, Australia on Sept. 8.
A man in Tasmania was treated to a dazzling display as the aurora australis shimmered over the Australian island state.
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Aurora australis shimmers pink and green in Tasmania
This timelapse taken by Andrew Klapton at Boomer Bay in Tasmania captured the magnetospheric light show. (Credit: Andrew Klapton via Storyful)
This time-lapse taken by Andrew Klapton at Boomer Bay captured the magnetospheric light show, displaying ribbons of pink and green against a starry night sky.
What is an aurora?
If you're ever near the North or South Pole, you may be in for a very special treat, because auroras vividly light up the night sky in these locations.
Even though auroras are best seen at night, they are actually caused by the sun, according to NASA.
When electrically charged particles from the sun and solar winds enter the Earth’s atmosphere, they interact with gases in the atmosphere.
When the particles interact with gases, it results in stunning displays of light in the sky. Oxygen gives off green and red light. Nitrogen glows blue and purple.
Difference between aurora borealis and aurora australis
These dramatic and colorful lights are created the same way in all locations, but are given different names.
Simply put, in the Arctic Circle, they are known as aurora borealis, or the northern lights, while in the Antarctic Circle they are called aurora australis, or the southern lights.
Storyful contributed to this story.