Searching for the soul of the Northern Lights

For her new book Aurora, Imperial plasma physicist and fusion researcher Dr Melanie Windridge explores the science and stories of the Northern Lights.

Fusion plasma physics is Dr Windridge’s day job, but she wanted to explore the ultimate plasma phenomenon - the Northern Lights - for her latest book.

“I wanted to see plasma physics in the landscape,” she says. “I also became interested in the polar explorers and the people and folklore of the Arctic and their relationship with the aurora.”

Dr Windridge visited Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Canada, Scotland and Svalbard in her quest for stories, science, and the lights themselves. Watch the video to see some of her pictures and hear about her adventures.

Dr Windridge gained her PhD at Imperial and is an Academic Visitor in the Department of Physics, as well as a consultant for the nuclear fusion start-up Tokamak Energy.

Aurora: In Search of the Northern Lights is out 25 February 2016, published by Harper Collins.