Mystic Northern Lights dazzle Swedish skies

Marja-Terttu Karlsson, 52, from Pajala in northern Sweden was one of hundreds of people out with camera in hand to capture the Northern Lights when they swept in as far south as Stockholm over the weekend.

But the keen amateur photographer managed to snap something unique: the spectacular light show creating the uncanny shape of a celestial animal resembling a wolf rising from earth into the sky.

The picture instantly became a viral hit and has been shared thousands of times on social media.

“I didn't see it at first, but when I looked at the picture I thought 'that's a wolf!'” a delighted Karlsson told The Local on Monday.

“Some suspect it's been manipulated. (…) But it's totally real.”

The Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, are a famous feature of Scandinavian autumn and winter nights but they can prove difficult to spot unless you live in the north of the country.

The phenomenon has been described as nature's own disco and tourism based around the natural light show is increasing in Sweden.

The Northern Lights are usually most common before midnight with the most intensive part typically lasting less than ten minutes.