The ethereal dancing shapes of the aurora borealis and aurora australis,
popularly known as the northern and southern lights, are among the most magical
phenomena of nature. Since aurorae are a feature of the skies in the polar regions, aurora watchers
have to go north or south, beyond the Arctic and Antarctic circles, to see them
at their best. For more about the appearance and causes of aurorae, see here.
Countries in the auroral zones and those which carry out polar research have
inevitably featured this wonderful natural phenomenon on their stamps. The
following pages are not intended to be an exhaustive gallery of such stamps,
but they include what I consider to be among the best examples from a pictorial
or historical point of view.
In the table below the stamps are listed alphabetically by country of issue.
Clicking on the stamp will take you to a larger version and further
information.
