Witnessing one of these events in momentous enough, but both at the same time? That’s what happened to photographer James Appleton when he captured this fantastic shot in Iceland. Check out his description below [via National Geographic]:

A volcanic eruption and the eruption of light from charged particles in the atmosphere—called the Northern Lights—occur at the same time in Iceland. The island nation was created by volcanic activity and today has 35 active volcanoes, which provide the country with plentiful geothermal power.