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Aurora Pictures Of 2011

The Best Aurora Pictures Of 2011
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Have you ever seen the northern (or southern) lights? Auroras are part of a natural phenomenon that occurs at far northern and southern latitudes.

According to National Geographic, auroras occur when "charged particles [from the sun] flow along Earth's magnetic field lines. The particles hit the atmosphere at the Poles and excite air molecules, which release the extra energy as light."

There were intense northern lights (aurora borealis) early in 2011, due to the strongest solar activity in four years. Several videos emerged from the early 2011 auroras, and they are quite impressive.

Although northern lights are traditionally seen only as far south as the northern United States, they could be seen much further south in October. In fact, northern lights were seen in Missouri and Arkansas. The rare treat was the result of a Coronal Mass Ejection, which is a burst of solar wind.

Check out some of the best images of aurora phenomena from 2011 and vote for your favorites. Be sure to check out these other 2011 aurora photos and this picture from August in which the northern lights, the Big Dipper and Jupiter can all be seen.

Flickr images courtesy of credited users.

Best Aurora Pictures 2011
(01 of13)
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Flickr image courtesy of http://heatherbuckley.co.uk. (credit:Flickr/http://heatherbuckley.co.uk)
(02 of13)
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From Getty: In this handout image provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Southern Lights or Aurora Australis (L), the port side wing of NASA space shuttle Atlantis (R) and its Orbital Boom Sensor System robot arm extension (C) can be seen from the International Space Station July 16, 2011 in space. Space shuttle Atlantis is on the last leg of a 12-day mission to the International Space Station where it delivered the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts. This was the final mission of the space shuttle program, which began on April 12, 1981 with the launch of Colombia. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
(03 of13)
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From Getty: In this handout image provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Southern Lights or Aurora Australis and the port side wing of NASA space shuttle Atlantis (R) can be seen from the International Space Station July 14, 2011 in space. Space shuttle Atlantis is on the last leg of a 12-day mission to the International Space Station where it delivered the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts. This was the final mission of the space shuttle program, which began on April 12, 1981 with the launch of Colombia. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
(04 of13)
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Flickr image courtesy of savillent. (credit:Flickr/savillent)
(05 of13)
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Flickr image courtesy of savillent. (credit:Flickr/savillent)
(06 of13)
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From Getty: In this handout image provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Southern Lights or Aurora Australis and the port side wing of NASA space shuttle Atlantis can be seen from the International Space Station July 14, 2011 in space. Space shuttle Atlantis is on the last leg of a 12-day mission to the International Space Station where it delivered the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts. This was the final mission of the space shuttle program, which began on April 12, 1981 with the launch of Colombia. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
(07 of13)
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Flickr image courtesy of savillent. (credit:Flickr/savillent)
(08 of13)
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From Getty: In this handout image provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Southern Lights or Aurora Australis ring planet earth as the docked space shuttle Atlantis' cargo bay (L) and the solar array panel of the International Space Station are seen July 14, 2011 in space. Space shuttle Atlantis is on the last leg of a 12-day mission to the International Space Station where it delivered the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts. This was the final mission of the space shuttle program, which began on April 12, 1981 with the launch of Colombia. (Photo by NASA via Getty Images) (credit:Getty)
(09 of13)
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From AP: In this image provided by NASA photographed by one of the Expedition 29 crew members from the International Space Station features Aurora Australis, seen from a point over the southeast Tasman Sea near southern New Zealand. The image was taken Sept. 17, 2011. (AP Photo/NASA) (credit:AP)
(10 of13)
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Flickr image courtesy of Billy Idle. (credit:Flickr/Billy Idle)
(11 of13)
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Flickr image courtesy of savillent. (credit:Flickr/savillent)
(12 of13)
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Flickr image courtesy of Matthew Grapengieser. (credit:Flickr/Matthew Grapengieser)
(13 of13)
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Flickr image courtesy of Maxiovip. (credit:Flickr/Maxiovip)

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