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Viking Aurora: Northern Lights Wow Photographer in Newfoundland

Viking Lights Woodworth
Astrophotographer Adam Woodworth took this image of an aurora from Norstead, a Viking village replica.



"The aurora was coming from all directions it seemed like, this was the first time I'd witnessed a strong aurora display so far north. L'anse aux Meadows is near the northern most tip of Newfoundland, certainly the farthest north I've ever been. An experience I'll never forget!” Woodworth wrote in an email to [Amazing Aurora Photos of 2015]

The image also shows Viking building replicas made out of sod and wood.  Woodworth's image is a blend of two exposures for depth of field. He used a Nikon D810A, Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens. The sky view was created with a single shot set at ISO 3200, 14mm, f/2.8, with a 1-second exposure.  The foreground was then taken as a single shot at ISO 1600, 14mm, f/5.6, with a 2-minute exposure.

Auroras occur when charged particles from the sun's solar wind interact with Earth's upper atmosphere (at altitudes above 50 miles, or 80 km), causing a glow. The particles are funneled to Earth's polar regions by the planet's magnetic field. The auroras over the North Pole are known as the aurora borealis, or the northern lights. The lights over the South Pole are dubbed the aurora australis, or southern lights. 


Editor's note: If you have a night sky photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, send images and comments in to at

