Breathtaking Timelapse of Dancing Southern Lights in Antarctica Has Left People In Awe
The Aurora Australis, a sibling of the Aurora Borealis, occurs in the Southern Hemisphere of Earth. Also referred to as the Southern Lights, the natural light displays that consume the sky, transforming it into something otherworldly. While the Northern Lights are widely discussed, filmmaker Martin Heck of Timestorm Films (@TimestormFilms) decided to make an exception and tease the beauty of the luminous phenomenon occurring at the other end of the globe. In a breathtaking 5-minute video on YouTube, he documented the marvelous Aurora Australis taking place at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica.
As the video unfolded, the bright hues of the Southern Lights flashed on the screen paired with a dramatic view of the Milky Way Galaxy. Precisely, the footage was shot during the long and unending polar nights in 2014 by cameraman Robert Schwarz. As the description stated, the temperature around the time of the shooting fell below -95 degrees Fahrenheit (-70 degrees Celsius), made worse by strong winds and “exceptional aridity.” The lights moved in swirls and meandered through the night sky with the pristine white snow lying beneath. An unbelievable sight.
However, it is worth noting that the video was in fact a time-lapse. When in reality, aurora events occur at a pace of their own and can be time-consuming. Beautifully filmed from a variety of angles, at one point, the camera fixed right below the lights, seemed like a luminous flower birthing from the sky. The note in the description stated, “This is one of the hardest places to shoot timelapse in. Special equipment has been constructed and modified to keep the cameras running.” Hues of lime green, magenta, yellow, and all sorts of colors moved while the world seemed to stand still with a starlit sky. According to the video, Antarctica is the only place where the aurora australis is seen with the core of the Milky Way at its center.
The mesmerizing glimpses of the southern lights attracted more than 1.4 million views on the internet. People reacted to the video with reactions drenched in awe and surprise. One netizen (@Seisei16) emotionally wrote, “Just seeing this through the screen already made me cry, don’t know what will happen if I see this in real life” while another (@emiliofernandez7117) shared a rather heartwarming insight. The comment read, “I’ve made an honest to god promise to show my mum the Northern lights in person before she passes away, it’s been her dream and it’s a memory to cherish forever.”
An elaborate note left by a person (@nerblebun) claimed that he had spent some time working in Antarctica, at several stations, and witnessed the Southern Lights every day and every hour. “Watching the Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) dancing in the night sky, all eleven weeks of 24/7 night sky, was truly a sight to behold. Hell, even on the rare occasions the Southern Light sat out the dance.....the dark skies over Antarctica were spectacular,” they narrated. The Southern Lights occur during periods of high solar activity and can be typically spotted in Tasmania, Australia, New Zealand, the Falkland Islands, and Antarctica.
You can follow @TimestormFilms on YouTube for more videos.