Green Aurora Borealis from Oxygen Gas in Earth's Atmosphere: View from Sweden

Green Aurora Borealis from Oxygen Gas in Earth's Atmosphere: View from Sweden

Astrophotographer Karsten Berger: "Extremely bright green auroras last night."

Also known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), auroras are colorful, dynamic, and often visually delicate displays of an intricate dance of particles and magnetism between the Sun and Earth called space weather. When energetic particles from space collide with atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, they can cause the colorful glow that we call auroras.

The color of an aurora depends on the type of gas that is hit and where that gas is located in the atmosphere.

Excited oxygen can produce green and red. Green occurs roughly between 60 to 120 miles (100-200 km) altitude, and red occurs above 120 miles (200 km). Green occurs roughly between 60 to 120 miles (100-200 km) altitude, and red occurs above 120 miles (200 km).

Learn more about auroras: 
https://science.nasa.gov/sun/auroras/

Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east.

Image Credit: Karsten Berger

Location: Kiruna, Schweden, Sweden
Date: Sept. 9, 2026

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