Spellbinding Colors of Northern Lights Astound Alaska Photographer (Images)

Aurora Over Alaska
Astrophotographer Dora Miller sent in a photo of an auroral display over Alaska, taken April 20, 2014. Miller is based in Talkeetna, AK. (Image credit: Dora Miller/www.AuroraDora.com)

The northern lights dance in a breathtaking display of purples and green in these stunning images by a night sky photographer in Alaska.

Astrophotographer Dora Miller of Talkeetna, Alaska captured the dazzling aurora images on April 20 during a nighttime photo session that she won't forget anytime soon.

"A very intense and colorful show of northern lights happened last night here in Alaska," Miller wrote in an email to Space.com. "I have been shooting auroras for many years but last night was a mind-blower." [See more amazing northern lights photos of 2014]

Astrophotographer Dora Miller sent in a photo of an auroral display over Alaska, taken April 20, 2014. (Image credit: Dora Miller/www.AuroraDora.com)

The particles are drawn to Earth's polar regions by the planet's magnetic field resulting in aurora borealis, or northern lights, and its southern counterpart the aurora australis, or southern lights.

Editor's note: If you have an amazing night sky photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

Follow Space.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook & Google+. Original article on Space.com.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Contributing Writer and Producer

Nina Sen is a freelance writer and producer who covered night sky photography and astronomy for Space.com. She began writing and producing content for Space.com in 2011 with a focus on story and image production, as well as amazing space photos captured by NASA telescopes and other missions. Her work also includes coverage of amazing images by astrophotographers that showcase the night sky's beauty.