People travel to see the Aurora Borealis for a whole range of reasons and one man recently made a trip to experience the impressive display with a very specific motivation. Neuroscientist Alex Rivest proposed to his girlfriend under the green, purple and turquoise auroras.
Writing a post he uploaded to the web complete with a video caption, he said: “On a trip to Iceland I asked my girlfriend to marry me under the Aurora Borealis.” Luckily for the scientist, his other half accepted his proposal.
He also used a time lapse camera over a period of several days to ensure he got some great footage of the dazzling display. The shots were taken with a Canon 5D Mark II and a Canon 40D using a special triggering device.
Speaking to SPACE.com, Mr Rivest said: “Iceland is a pretty amazing place to watch the stars and the aurora.”
He is not the first person to pop the question under an awe-inspiring aerial display. Last year, stargazer Shookie Basuroy surprised his other half Rajeep while watching a total solar eclipse with her from a hot air balloon above Cairns in Australia. She also said yes.
The auroras, which can be seen in the night sky in both the northern and southern regions of the Earth, are caused by the interaction of the solar wind and the planet’s magnetic field and atmosphere. The solar wind is a stream of charged particles that escapes the Sun.
When the Earth’s magnetic field traps some of the particles, it sends them on a collision course with molecules in the atmosphere and, as a result of these tiny repeated crashes, energy is released in the form of light.
To witness the Aurora Borealis for themselves, some people choose to take Northern Lights holidays. These trips can be truly memorable.