--- title: Whales Swimming Under Northern Lights: Video description: NRK photographer Harald Albrigtsen filmed humpback whales swimming under the northern lights canonical: https://time.com/4070295/humpback-whales-northern-lights/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-12T19:00:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:50.781Z og:title: Footage of Whales Swimming Under the Northern Lights Is Majestic og:description: The reaction has been glowing og:url: https://time.com/4070295/humpback-whales-northern-lights/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Footage of Whales Swimming Under the Northern Lights Is Majestic twitter:description: The reaction has been glowing twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Footage of Whales Swimming Under the Northern Lights Is Simply Majestic > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=2b825520-5222-4903-804b-3cfe88713537&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Watch the Northern Lights Turn a Spectacular Green for St. Paddy’s Day [Watch (HLS stream): Watch the Northern Lights Turn a Spectacular Green for St. Paddy’s Day](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6rUSkxAP.m3u8) (3:01)  _Published 2015-03-18. To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, astronomers from the Slooh expedition team will venture out to Iceland’s Faroe Islands to stream the Northern Lights turning a mesmerizing shade of emerald green._  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Oct 12, 2015 7:00 PM UTC  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Oct 12, 2015 7:00 PM UTC Photographer Harald Albrigtsen has been getting glowing reviews about his new video for Norwegian public television (NRK) showing humpback whales swimming beneath the northern lights, off the coast of the island Kvaløya near the city Tromsø. One could joke that Albrigtsen’s clip is certainly more riveting than the TV station’s past programming featuring [salmon swimming upstream](http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/06/20/salmon-swimming-upstream-make-riveting-reality-tv-in-norway/) or a 134-hour ferry ride. Also known as aurora borealis, this natural phenomenon is created by “collisions between fast-moving electrons and the oxygen and nitrogen in Earth’s upper atmosphere,” [according to NASA](http://pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/polar/EPO/northern%5Flights/aurora%5Fbroch.pdf). “As they ‘calm down’ and return to their normal state, they emit photons, small bursts of energy in the form of light.” And regarding how the lights get their colors: “Oxygen emits either a greenish-yellow light (the most familiar color of the aurora) or a red light; nitrogen generally gives off a blue light. The blending of these colors can also produce purples, pinks, and white.” ### See the 9 Most Breathtaking Photos of the Northern Lights  The Northern Lights are seen over Usk Reservoir at the Brecon Beacons, Wales, on March 17, 2015. Polly Thomas—Rex USA  The Northern Lights near Salgotarjan, Hungary, on March 18, 2015. Peter Komka—EPA  The Northern Lights over Grimersta Lodge on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis on March 18, 2015. Sandie Maciver—Demotix/Corbis  The Northern Lights above the Staffordshire moorlands in England on March 17, 2015. Michael Scott—Demotix/Corbis  The Northern Lights over Shawbost on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland's Outer Hebrides in the early hours of March 18, 2015. Sandie Maciver—Demotix/Corbis  The Northern Lights (Aurora borealis) are seen on the sky above Pilisszentkereszt, Hungary, on March 18, 2015. Balazs Mohai—EPA  The Northern Lights over the Callanish Stones, Grimersta and Shawbost on Lewis and Harris hills on March 17, 2015. Sandie Maciver—Demotix/Corbis  The Northern Lights over the Callanish Stones, Grimersta and Shawbost on Lewis and Harris hills on March 17, 2015. Sandie Maciver—Demotix/Corbis  The Northern Lights over a country road near Lietzen in Maerkisch-Oderland, Germany, on March 17, 2015. 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