October winner. “A burst of the aurora borealis over Kirkjufell, taken in September 2016. This shot has been a holy grail for me and was finally captured after many trips”. MICK RYAN, JUDGE: Iceland is a hotspot for aurora photography and this composition of the symmetric, free-standing Kirkjufell and the trident waterfall is much-sought after. If you can time your visit when the aurora “kp” index is high and know the settings for nighttime aurora images, you may end up with a beautiful photograph like this. (Photo by DВ/The Guardian)
The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) lights up the sky near the village of Pallas (Muonio region) of Lapland, Finland September 8, 2017. (Photo by Alexander Kuznetsov/Reuters/All About Lapland)
A tourist takes photos of an Aurora Borealis display (Northern Lights) over the Bals-Fiord north of the Arctic Circle, near the village of Mestervik late September 30, 2014. (Photo by Yannis Behrakis/Reuters)
The northern lights, or aurora borealis, illuminate the sky over Flakstad beach on Lofoten Islands in the Arctic Circle on September 5, 2017. (Photo by Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP Photo)
“Aurora Hunters”. Photographers taking part in a photography tour on the Lofoten Islands in Norway, pull over on the side of the road to take a photo of their first ever Aurora Borealis after spotting it from their tour bus. Photo location: Rystad, Lofoten Islands, Norway. (Photo and caption by Mark Gee/National Geographic Photo Contest)
The aurora borealis, or the northern lights occur over Derwentwater, near Keswick, England, Thursday October 8, 2015. The northern lights are the result of collisions between gaseous particles in the Earth's atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun. (Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Wire via AP Photo)
The northern lights as seen from from Yell in the Shetland Islands, Scotland on January 15, 2023. The aurora borealis is caused by collisions between electrically charged particles released from the sun that enter the Earth’s atmosphere and collide with gases such as oxygen and nitrogen. (Photo by Ryan Nisbet/Capture Media Agency)