The aurora, a natural light display most often seen in the Arctic and Antarctic, is one of nature's true wonders. When seen in the north, the effect is known as aurora borealis or northern lights, a term coined by Galileo in the 17th century.

The best time to catch an aurora is between midnight and early morning, from December to March. Here's what you could see.

These stunning pictures capture the northern lights in all their glory, the bright lights illuminating beautiful snowy scenery with ethereal greens, oranges and purples.

These incredible snaps were taken by photographer and restaurateur Ioannis Pavlis, from Pennsylvania, US, on a trip to North Pole, a suburb in the small city Fairbanks, in Alaska, US.

Here auroras hover above the rooftops of a small small Norwegian town. These photographs were taken in the village of Lodingen, Norway by Rune Nilssen.

The 47-year-old Norwegian nursery teacher wanted to capture the natural phenomenon above an urban setting.

"I wanted to capture the different shapes and colours of the auroras, as well as combining them with houses, streetlights and the general magic of nature," said Rune.

If you're bored of sandy beaches and clear blue seas, you can always consider Lapland for a special getaway. At the Kakslauttanen resort in Finland, you can lie in bed under the glass ceiling of your igloo and watch the snow fall in the light. It's pretty magical.

Two climbers, Mike Stuart and Takeshi Tani, were scaling the Athabasca Glacier in Alberta, Canada, when the aurora lit up the nights sky. They were photographed by nighttime photographer Paul Zizka, who specializes in capturing auroras in some of Canada's most beautiful parks.

Paul, 35, from Banff in Alberta, said the stillness of the climbers and movement of the lights made for one of the best photography experiences of his life.

The northern lights can often be caught in Jasper National Park, where the above glacier sits For this photo, Paul didn't just catch the lights and ice – he also got Mike and Takeshi hanging from the frozen glacier.

An Icelandic photographer captured the stunning northern lights in the town of Thingvellir .The pictures, taken in the early hours of a January morning, show a luminious green sky, with aurora borealis lighting it.

The images were captured in a national park in south-west Iceland, and Vidir Bjornsson was the lucky photographer.

This amazing picture of frozen ice bubbles lit up by the northern lights makes for an incredible image. The picture shows the perfectly frozen bubbles just under the surface of the water, spectacularly illuminated by the glow of the northern lights. The photo was taken by David Swindler, a photographer from Utah, US, at Abraham Lake in Alberta, Canada.

Awash with vibrant constellations and iridescent colours, these awe-inspiring images transform the night sky into a kaleidoscope of color. Astrographer Craig Goodwin, 46, has travelled across America on trips to Washington, Idaho and Arizona to capture the stunning beauty of the night sky in all its glory.

Painted with a beautiful palette of striking neon green, purple, yellow and a deep-red colour, the evening skies look almost like they belong in another world. These spectacular shots were captured by Carl Johnson, 45, who couldnt believe his eyes as the light show beamed through the skies.

This shot shows a lone kayaker floating through a lake in the dead of night. Bathed in the glow of the northern lights and twinkling stars, photographer and kayaker Paul Zizka paddled through the calm waters against the beautiful backdrop of the Canadian Rockies.