Photographer Tori Harp didn’t expect the stunning alignment captured in the top image: a glowing aurora, an icy cave, and the silhouette of a lone hiker. After eight months of scouting Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park, Harp had initially envisioned setting up her friend against New Zealand’s night sky when auroras lit it up a brilliant pink—bringing out, by contrast, the chilling shade of blue in the ice caves.

Harp’s photograph is one of 25 winners of the 2025 Northern Lights Photographer of the Year competition, hosted by travel blog Capture the Atlas to honor images that illustrate the surreal beauty of the Northern Lights. And what a year it’s been, with the Sun, now in its solar maximum phase, unleashing geomagnetic storms that lit up the skies with dazzling displays.

You can see the

See Full Page