A Rare Glimpse Of Rapidly Pulsating Aurorae Over Iceland

Aurorae are uncommon . pulsate aurorae , whose structures fade in and out of macrocosm , are rarer , still . But rapidly pulsating aurorae , like that sport in this picture by French astrophotographer Stéphane Vetter ( antecedently ) , are among the least common of all . This footage is not a time - lapse ; the colors in this video are flickering in veridical - time .

Vetter captured the footage in March , while shooting inSvínafellsjökull GlacierinIceland :

The 48 - second video shown is not time - relapsing . The real - time pulsations are represent by sequences where the astrophotographer is seeable moving about in the foreground . A close inspection of the enigmatic flickering sky colors reveals that some structures appear to recapitulate , while others do not . The agile rapidity of the pulsations seen here is somewhat unusual — more vulgar areaurorawith pulsations that last several instant . late researchshows that pulsations are more common in electron - get aurora , rather thanproton aurora , and that theEarth ’s local magnetic fieldmayfluctuate in unison .