Aurora borealis over steep mountains of Moskenesøya Island, Lofoten, Norway

Whirlpool in the sky

As above, so below,’ goes an ancient adage, and this swirling stunner of a photo is a perfect representation. As the aurora borealis forms a verdant vortex above the western Lofoten Islands, the deep seas off this Norwegian archipelago spiral like a titanic bathtub drain. The system of whirlpools, currents, and eddies that looms just past Lofoten’s tip – a maelstrom known to wary sailors as the Moskstraumen – is one of the most powerful in the world.