Watch: Iceland Turns Streetlights Off, Lets Northern Lights Shine

Iceland’s capital city, Reykjavik, had an amazing view of the Northern Lights Wednesday night, largely because it turned its own lights off.

The Reykjavik City Council decided this week to turn off all streetlights in many parts of the city on Wednesday from 10 to 11 p.m., and encouraged residents to switch off the lights in their homes as well. The result was minimal light pollution during a particularly spectacular display of the aurora borealis. Here you can watch what many saw overhead in Reykjavik that night—the Northern Lights, with the lights out.