Northern Lights: Spectacular Nasa time-lapse video shows aurora borealis from space

A spectacular time-lapse video has been released that shows the Northern Lights from space. Filmed by Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly, the amateur footage shows the auroa borealis occurring over Earth's horizon just as the sun comes into view.

Kelly took the sunrise video on the 141st day of his year-long mission at the International Space Station.

Since posting the footage to Twitter the video has gone viral, being shared more than 4,000 times on the social media network.

This isn't the first time video footage of the Northern Lights has been filmed from space. In May this year Nasa astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti published an 18-second time-lapse video of the aurora borealis from space.

The Northern Lights (or aurora borealis) is a spectacular natural phenomenon that occurs predominantly in the northern hemisphere. It is caused by cosmic rays, solar winds and magnetospheric plasma interacting with the upper atmosphere to create an astound array of colours.