This picture shows a striking resemblance to that mythical bird, the Pheonix. Here the Phoenix presents with outstretched wings and its striking profile. This image was captured by photographer Hallgrimur P. Helgason, in Iceland.
Hallgrimur, 64, said that the bird showed up in the night sky an hour after he got there and started snapping.
He said: “It’s really a thrill shooting the aurora, especially when they are so playful like they were that night.
“I have to admit that I always get an adrenalin kick when the lights burst out like that – that particular shot was the top one of the night.”
Hallgrimur uses a camera and tripod to photograph the lights and advises snapping in the dark away from city light pollution and never using a flash.
He said that the Northern Lights were mainly showing in green and yellow colours when he was shooting that night but also sported red and blue suggesting that the aurora was strong.
EnviroTREC has posted a few interesting stories and pictures about the Northern Lights from time to time.
This story is an interesting one too and has to do with the aurora taking a recognizable shape, or a Pareidolia. In this case the aurora presented itself as a Phoenix.
Additionally, the colours presented were beyond the traditional yellow and green. Blue and red were also present, which indicates that the aurora was strong at that event. Feel to look over our previous stories on the Northern Lights!
https://www.envirotrec.ca/2017/10/14/northern-lights-at-glacier/
https://www.envirotrec.ca/2017/10/08/new-type-of-northern-lights-discovered-named-steve/
This presentation of the Phoenix took place on March 16, 2016 at 3:30 am over Iceland, some 30 km north of their capital city of Reykjavik. As one can imagine, these images are transitory and only lasted briefly. Fortunately, the the photographer was there to capture this exciting image.
Photos credits:Image Credit & Story Copyright: Hallgrimur P. Helgason