Crowds abandon their browsing to step onto the sand and watch the sky light up in blistering reds and oranges.

BBC: Driving Australia��s desolate Stuart Highway

More commonly known as the Northern Lights, when the spectacle is in full flow iridescent colors dance across the Arctic night, setting the sky ablaze with a range of cosmic greens, reds and yellows.

CNN: Chasing the elusive Northern Lights by boat