In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, here are 18 stunning green auroras as seen from Earth and outer space (aboard the International Space Station). For those unfamiliar, Saint Patrick’s Day is a cultural and religious celebration held on the 17th of March each year. It signifies the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.

An aurora (astralis in the south and borealis in the north) is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude (Arctic and Antarctic) regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere (thermosphere). The charged particles originate in the magnetosphere and solar wind and, on Earth, are directed by the Earth’s magnetic field into the atmosphere. [source]