10 Beautiful Nature Time-Lapse Videos That Will Brighten Your Day

From double rainbows to total eclipses, nature is full of moments of stunning beauty. But sometimes, these incredible spectacles take hours or days to reveal themselves. Thankfully, time-lapse videos can help reveal these natural phenomenons using accelerated footage. Here are some beautiful nature time-lapse videos that will brighten your day.

Northern Lights Time-Lapse

One of the most beautiful natural phenomena on Earth is the Northern Lights. When solar flares send particles from the Sun into the Earth’s atmosphere, a green dancing light is created in the sky. Although the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, are very colorful, their dance in the atmosphere takes place in slow motion. Luckily we have time-lapse cameras. There’s no other way to truly appreciate the natural beauty of the Northern Lights.

Total Lunar Eclipse

A lunar eclipse takes place when the Moon passes directly behind Earth and into its shadow. Unlike solar eclipses, which only lasts a few minutes, lunar eclipses can last up to 2 hours and are safe to view without wearing eye protection. This is a beautiful time-lapse video of a total lunar eclipse from September 27, 2015.

Monarch Butterfly Emerging

This time-lapse video filmed by Neil Bromhall shows a Monarch butterfly emerging from a cocoon. After emerging, the butterfly has to wait several hours for its wings to dry before it can fly away.

Decomposition: Organic Burger vs Fast Food Chain Burger

Fast-food chains like McDonald’s use a variety of ingredients and preservatives that help increase the shelf-life of their products. So how does a fast-food burger’s decomposition compare to a burger made with organic ingredients? Just watch the video to see the difference. It might help convince you to switch to an all-organic diet.

Virginia Snow Storm

When Winter Storm Jonas hit the east coast of the United States in 2016, many areas received record snowfall. This time-lapse video shows a 48-hour snapshot of the blizzard between January 22-24 in northern Virginia. If you look carefully, you can even see Venus rising in the east just before sunrise. In total, 31 inches of snow fell at the location of the time-lapse video recording.

Earth From The ISS

From city lights to thunderstorms, this stunning time-lapse video recorded by NASA on the International Space Station (ISS) shows our planet from orbit. Here’s a breakdown of what clips are included in this time-lapse from space.

(0:00) North-to-south down the western coast of North and South America
(0:48) North-to-south over Florida, the Bahamas, and other Caribbean islands
(0:56) South-East Asia, approaching the Philippine Sea
(1:04) Western Europe, from France through Italy, Greece, Turkey, and the Middle East
(1:20) Aurora Australis, over the Indian Ocean, approaching Australia
(1:36) Aurora Australis, over the Indian Ocean
(1:52) Aurora Australis, an unknown location in the Southern Hemisphere

Time-Lapse At Sea

This is a time-lapse video of a cargo ship at sea for 30 days through thunderstorms, torrential rain, and busy harbor traffic.

Flowers Blooming

Flowers bloom so slowly that it would be impossible to watch them unfurl in realtime. But this stunning time-lapse video by filmmaker David de Los Santos Gil showcases dozens of flowers blooming at a speed everyone can appreciate in just a few minutes.

Blooming Mushroom Time-Lapse

Sometimes blooming mushrooms can be just as beautiful as flowers. This mushroom time-lapse video features some unique types of fungi. If you really love mushrooms, make sure you want this video of bioluminescent mushrooms blooming.

Rainbow Time Lapse

This is a beautiful rainbow time-lapse over Honolulu, Hawaii shot with a Canon 5D Mark III camera. At 0:24 a Double Rainbow emerges. So intense!