The Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights illuminate the night sky on November 12, 2015 near the town of Kirkenes in northern Norway. (Photo: AP)

A spectacular multicoloured display of the Northern Lights danced across the sky over Finland this week.

The aurora borealis was visible across an unusually large swathe of the country, and further south than usual.

It is the result of collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun with particles in the Earth’s atmosphere. Strong solar winds led to this week’s particularly stunning show.

The equivalent phenomenon in the southern hemisphere is the aurora australis, or the Southern Lights.