Aurora chaser catches a fox basking in the glow of Finland’s legendary ‘fox fires’ (photos)

In Finnish folklore, the northern lights are created when a mythical fox races across the Arctic tundra, its tail sweeping snow into the sky and setting it ablaze. Those glowing sparks, the story goes, become auroras — a legend reflected in the Finnish word revontulet, which literally translates to “fox fires.”

That ancient myth feels uncannily real in a remarkable set of astrophotos captured by Dennis Lehtonen in December 2022 in northern Finland.

The images show vivid auroras dancing overhead and a fox below who seems far more interested in the photographer than the light show unfolding above.

Three of the photographs were taken on the same night, with moonlight brightening the Arctic landscape.

Image 1 of 3

The fourth photo was captured a week later, when the fox returned for another round of aurora chasing. Though in this instance, it was Lehtonen who was doing most of the chasing as the sly fox made off with his gloves that he’d set down while sorting out his camera.

“Whenever I would attempt to approach it, trying to get the gloves back, it would run away, but eventually returned them with fingers missing,” Lehtonen told Space.com in an email.

Lehtonen captured the images near the remote village of Kilpisjärvi, located deep inside the Arctic Circle and known for its dark skies and frequent aurora displays.

“My original reason for moving and living in this small village, Kilpisjärvi, home to a hundred people, was my aurora hobby. I lived there for a year, but then I continued moving to Greenland,” Lehtonen continued.

Editor’s note: If you snap an astrophoto and would like to share it with Space.com’s readers, send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.