![The Bardarbunga volcano erupts under the aurora borealis in the Holuhraun lava field in the east highlands of Iceland near Snæfell on Sept. 2, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/10662000_792238487494113_7666724538729263317_o.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
Since the Aug. 31 eruption of Iceland’s Bardarbunga volcano, the world has watched in awe as it spews glowing red lava into the desolate landscape. Bardarbunga has stemmed a series of earthquakes through the country, but the eruption has also become the subject of some incredible photographs, videos, and satellite images.
Icelandic photographer Gísli Dúa Hjörleifsson, who is also a ranger in the area, may have captured the most epic images of all: the hot glow of the volcanic eruption underneath cool and ethereal haze of the northern lights, or the aurora borealis.
![A volcano erupts under the aurora borealis in the east highlands of Iceland near Snæfell on Sept. 2, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/10547938_792238490827446_8835391828125554399_o.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
“In my many years of working in the highland of Iceland both as a photographer and ranger, I . . . have a knowledge of the nature and especially the way the light has an huge influence in the landscape,” Hjörleifsson told TIME. “Knowing the current situation of the volcano I wanted to capture this unique situation. I drove up in the area surrounding the volcano and watched the the sky until I could see the northern lights taking shape. That interaction with the heat and color from the volcano created a completely new color palette I have never seen [before].”
Look at These Incredible Close-Ups of a Volcanic Eruption in Iceland
![](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-09.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Lava erupts up to 100 meters in the air at Bardarbunga, Sept. 2, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-08.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Creeping lava and a mirage from the heat distorting the view of the lava fountains in the distance. The heat may be over 1000 degrees Celsius. Bardarbunga, Sept. 2, 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-10.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A late afternoon wide angle view over a part of the 2 km long fissure erupting and the cloud of fumes and steam rising into the air.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-11.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Lava fountain and black lava in the foreground. Bardarbunga / Holuhraun eruption. Iceland Central Highlands 2014.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-07.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![The lava-producing fissure eruption began on Aug. 31, but part of it was already extinct the next day. Bardarbunga, Sept. 1.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-01.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Much of the eruption plume is water vapor. Bardarbunga, Sept. 1.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-02.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A pulled-back view of the lava flow and massive plumb of water vapor. Bardarbunga, Sept. 1.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-03.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Individual craters, made of lava spatter and scoria around each vent, line the active fissure. Bardarbunga, Sept. 1.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-04.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A close-up view of the lava flow and massive plumb of water vapor. Bardarbunga, Sept. 1.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-05.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Heavy activity in the northern half of the fissure sent a white plumb some 15,000 feet into the sky and pushed lava across the cold sand below. Bardarbunga, Sept. 1.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bardarbunga-volcano-photos-close-up-iceland-06.jpeg?quality=75&w=2400)
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Write to Mia Tramz at mia.tramz@time.com