Must be time we had some aurora pics and vids... a lot of them!

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120708.html 

Let's kick off with an aurora AND a volcano erupting - this was from 1991 in Iceland but was featured on Astronomy Picture of the Day today.

This is a good two-minute compilation of timelapse video from the International Space Station, by  Tomislav Safundžić (via@SpaceX):

This is Our Planet from Tomislav Safundžić on Vimeo.

Image courtesy of the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center

http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos/CrewEarthObservationsVideos/

Music: The XX - Intro

Tromso, Northern Norway is a mecca for aurora chasers, and this time lapse video by Tor Even Mathisen shows why in this four minute beauty (via @BadAstronomer):

Arctic Motion from Tor Even Mathisen on Vimeo.

Music: "As We Float" by 'The American Dollar' 

Appetite whetted? Well settle in for this - 13 minutes of spectacular gorgeousness from Lapland, Sweden by Lights Over Lapland (via @SpaceX):

Lights Over Lapland the Aurora Borealis Experience from Lights Over Lapland on Vimeo.

www.lightsoverlapland.com

Some lovely purple and yellow over Ireland (one minute) by Brendan Alex:

A great still by Stephane Vetter in Iceland, featured on APOD:


In the Southern Hemisphere, two minutes of stunning Aurora Australis by Tom Luttrell at the Davis Base in Antarctica - recorded on ANZAC Day 2012 (via @nightskyonline):



The video is shot in the northern parts of Norway, Finland and Sweden (4:30 via @iceinspace):

Celestial Lights from Ole C. Salomonsen on Vimeo. http://www.arcticlightphoto.no

Music composed by Norwegian composer Kai-Anders Ryan. http://kaiandersryan.no/

So where does all this wonderful come from? Check this explainer, from Space.com.