Stunning video shows dance of Northern Lights in real time

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — Alaska is no stranger to Northern Lights displays, but a show Sunday night was surely one for the books.

Aurora chaser Vincent Ledvina captured this nearly 2-minute long video of a brilliant green display of the Northern Lights near Fairbanks.

Watch above as the green streaks dance across the skies… in real-time.

Vivid Northern Lights displays usually follow a few days after solar events known as coronal mass ejections or solar flares.  The flares bring a barrage of electrons that interact with oxygen and nitrogen in Earth’s magnetic field that surrounds the outside of our planet.

The electrons briefly energize the oxygen and nitrogen molecules, and when the moment passes, the molecules release a bit of light. The color of the light depends on the gas — oxygen is primarily responsible for greens and yellows while nitrogen gives off more of the blue hues.