Northern Lights 'ghoul' pictured in Norway

A ghoulish image of the Northern Lights - the natural phenomenon also known as Aurora Borealis - has been taken in Norway.

Photographer Niels Giroud took the snaps in Mo i Rana, just south of the Arctic Circle. He said: "The northern light activity here has been very low for a long period, but we finally had both auroras and a clear sky.

"The show lasted only for a couple of minutes but was beyond expectations, with fast moving curtains of green and red auroras filling the whole sky."



The name Aurora Borealis comes from the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for north wind, Boreas.

The shimmering waves and swirls, caused by charged particles colliding in the earth's atmosphere, most often occurs from September to October and from March to April and is visible in the northern hemisphere.

Its southern counterpart, the Aurora Australis – Latin for South – is visible from Antarctica, South America and Australasia.