2024 May 12

Red Aurora over Poland
* Image Credit & Copyright: Mariusz Durlej
https://tkalniakietrz.pl/wystawa-astrofotografii-mariusza-durleja/

Explanation:
Northern lights don't usually reach this far south. Magnetic chaos in the Sun's huge Active Region 3664, however, produced a surface explosion that sent a burst of electrons, protons, and more massive, charged nuclei into the Solar System. A few days later, that coronal mass ejection (CME) impacted the Earth and triggered auroras that are being reported unusually far from our planet's north and south poles. The free sky show might not be over -- the sunspot rich AR3664 has ejected even more CMEs that might also impact the Earth tonight or tomorrow. That active region is now near the Sun's edge, though, and will soon be rotating away from the Earth. Pictured, a red and rayed aurora was captured in a single 6-second exposure from Racibórz, Poland early last night. The photographer's friend, seeing an aurora for the first time, is visible in the distance also taking images of the beautifully colorful nighttime sky.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240512.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

"So honestly, if this mysterious Aurora doesn't remind you of Harry Potter, you either don't read any books or have and don't know any children .. (just joking)"

2024 February 25
A green aurora fills a star filled sky. A mountain and a lake are in the foreground. The aurora may resemble, to some, a flying or rising Phoenix.

A Phoenix Aurora over Iceland
* Image Credit & Copyright: Hallgrimur P. Helgason; Rollover Annotation: Judy Schmidt

Explanation:
All of the other aurora watchers had gone home. By 3:30 am in Iceland, on a quiet September night, much of that night's auroras had died down. Suddenly, unexpectedly, a new burst of particles streamed down from space, lighting up the Earth's atmosphere once again. This time, surprisingly, pareidoliacally, the night lit up with an amazing shape reminiscent of a giant phoenix. With camera equipment at the ready, two quick sky images were taken, followed immediately by a third of the land. The mountain in the background is Helgafell, while the small foreground river is called Kaldá, both located about 30 kilometers north of Iceland's capital Reykjavík. Seasoned skywatchers will note that just above the mountain, toward the left, is the constellation of Orion, while the Pleiades star cluster is also visible just above the frame center. The 2016 aurora, which lasted only a minute and was soon gone forever -- would possibly be dismissed as a fanciful fable -- were it not captured in the featured, digitally-composed, image mosaic.
https://harrypotterinsights.com/the-enigmatic-phoenix-symbolism-and-significance-in-the-wizarding-world/

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240225.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

"Our solar film projector does not stop conjuring up magical mythical creatures on our atmospheric screen"

2024 January 14

Dragon Aurora over Iceland
* Image Credit & Copyright: Jingyi Zhang & Wang Zheng

Explanation:
Have you ever seen a dragon in the sky? Although real flying dragons don't exist, a huge dragon-shaped aurora developed in the sky over Iceland in 2019. The aurora was caused by a hole in the Sun's corona that expelled charged particles into a solar wind that followed a changing interplanetary magnetic field to Earth's magnetosphere. As some of those particles then struck Earth's atmosphere, they excited atoms which subsequently emitted light: aurora. This iconic display was so enthralling that the photographer's mother ran out to see it and was captured in the foreground. Our active Sun continues to show an unusually high number of prominences, filaments, sunspots, and large active regions as solar maximum approaches in 2025.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240114.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

".. and whoever drinks from this magical spring only once inevitably becomes a more peaceful, happier and better being. Just look at how Elon and Donald fared afterwards:
https://mstdn.ca/@seanb/114648824966395547 "

2023 December 27

Rainbow Aurora over Icelandic Waterfall
Image Credit & Copyright: Stefano Pellegrini
https://fotocult.it/stefano-pellegrini-intervista/

Explanation:
Yes, but can your aurora do this? First, yes, auroras can look like rainbows even though they are completely different phenomena. Auroras are caused by Sun-created particles being channeled into Earth's atmosphere by Earth's magnetic field, and create colors by exciting atoms at different heights. Conversely, rainbows are created by sunlight backscattering off falling raindrops, and different colors are refracted by slightly different angles. Unfortunately, auroras can’t create waterfalls, but if you plan well and are lucky enough, you can photograph them together. The featured picture is composed of several images taken on the same night last November near the Skógafoss waterfall in Iceland. The planning centered on capturing the central band of our Milky Way galaxy over the picturesque cascade. By luck, a spectacular aurora soon appeared just below the curving arch of the Milky Way. Far in the background, the Pleiades star cluster and the Andromeda galaxy can be found.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231227.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

2023 December 12

Aurora and Milky Way over Norway
* Image Credit & Copyright: Giulio Cobianchi
https://giuliocobianchi.com/about/

Explanation:
What are these two giant arches across the sky? Perhaps the more familiar one, on the left, is the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. This grand disk of stars and nebulas here appears to encircle much of the southern sky. Visible below the stellar arch is the rusty-orange planet Mars and the extended Andromeda galaxy. But this night had more! For a few minutes during this cold arctic night, a second giant arch appeared encircling part of the northern sky: an aurora. Auroras are much closer than stars as they are composed of glowing air high in Earth's atmosphere. Visible outside the green auroral arch is the group of stars popularly known as the Big Dipper. The featured digital composite of 20 images was captured in mid-November 2022 over the Lofoten Islands in Norway.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231212.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #physics #nature

2023 November 25

Little Planet Aurora
* Image Credit & Copyright: Victor Lima
https://www.trilhadeestrelas.com/about
https://app.astrobin.com/u/@victorlimaphoto#about

Explanation:
Immersed in an eerie greenish light, this rugged little planet appears to be home to stunning water falls and an impossibly tall mountain. It's planet Earth of course. On the night of November 9 the nadir-centered 360 degree mosaic was captured by digital camera from the Kirkjufell mountain area of western Iceland. Curtains of shimmering Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights provide the pale greenish illumination. The intense auroral display was caused by solar activity that rocked Earth's magnetosphere in early November and produced strong geomagnetic storms. Kirkjufell mountain itself stands at the top of the stereographic projection's circular horizon. Northern hemisphere skygazers will recognize the familiar stars of the Big Dipper just above Kirkjufell's peak. At lower right the compact Pleiades star cluster and truly giant planet Jupiter also shine in this little planet's night sky.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231125.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

2023 November 6

Red Aurora over Italy
* Image Credit & Copyright: Giorgia Hofer
https://www.giorgiahoferphotography.com/

Explanation:
What was that red glow on the horizon last night? Aurora. Our unusually active Sun produced a surface explosion a few days ago that sent out a burst of electrons, protons, and more massive charged nuclei. This coronal mass ejection (CME) triggered auroras here on Earth that are being reported unusually far south in Earth's northern hemisphere. For example, this was the first time that the astrophotographer captured aurora from her home country of Italy. Additionally, many images from these auroras appear quite red in color. In the featured image, the town of Comelico Superiore in the Italian Alps is visible in the foreground, with the central band of our Milky Way galaxy seen rising from the lower left. What draws the eye the most, though, is the bright red aurora on the far right. The featured image is a composite with the foreground and background images taken consecutively with the same camera and from the same location.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231106.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

"I'm thinking about designing my next TOPIC> as 'FOLLOWERS ONLY' .. would that be ok for you?
Bots-requests would not be accepted."

2023 November 5

Creature Aurora Over Norway
* Image Credit & Copyright: Ole C. Salomonsen (Arctic Light Photo)
https://www.arcticlightphoto.no/about/

Explanation:
It was Halloween and the sky looked like a creature. Exactly which creature, the astrophotographer was unsure (but possibly you can suggest one). Exactly what caused this eerie apparition in 2013 was sure: one of the best auroral displays that year. This spectacular aurora had an unusually high degree of detail. Pictured here, the vivid green and purple auroral colors are caused by high atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen reacting to a burst of incoming electrons. Birch trees in Tromsø, Norway formed an also eerie foreground. Frequently, new photogenic auroras accompany new geomagnetic storms.
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/31248/
https://annex.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/auroras/difcolors.html

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231105.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

2023 October 22

Ghost Aurora over Canada
* Image Credit & Copyright: Yuichi Takasaka, TWAN
http://www.blue-moon.ca/contact.html
https://twanight.org/profile/yuichi-takasaka/

Explanation:
What does this aurora look like to you? While braving the cold to watch the skies above northern Canada early one morning in 2013, a most unusual aurora appeared. The aurora definitely appeared to be shaped like something, but what? Two ghostly possibilities recorded by the astrophotographer were "witch" and "goddess of dawn", but please feel free to suggest your own Halloween-enhanced impressions. Regardless of fantastical pareidolic interpretations, the pictured aurora had a typical green color and was surely caused by the scientifically commonplace action of high-energy particles from space interacting with oxygen in Earth's upper atmosphere. In the image foreground, at the bottom, is a frozen Alexandra Falls, while evergreen trees cross the middle.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/earths-upper-atmosphere/
https://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?t=43394
http://blue-moon.ca/tonight%27s_aurora.html

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231022.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

"This thread on the subject of auroras will soon be continued. For today, however, I wish you a good, peaceful night and wonderful magical dreams .."

2023 July 30

Spiral Aurora over Icelandic Divide
* Image Credit & Copyright: Juan Carlos Casado (Starry Earth, TWAN)
https://twanight.org/profile/juan-carlos-casado/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/starryearth/albums/

Explanation:
Admire the beauty but fear the beast. The beauty is the aurora overhead, here taking the form of a great green spiral, seen between picturesque clouds with the bright Moon to the side and stars in the background. The beast is the wave of charged particles that creates the aurora but might, one day, impair civilization. In 1859, following notable auroras seen all across the globe, a pulse of charged particles from a coronal mass ejection (CME) associated with a solar flare impacted Earth's magnetosphere so forcefully that it created the Carrington Event. This assault from the Sun compressed the Earth's magnetic field so violently that it created high currents and sparks along telegraph wires, shocking many telegraph operators. Were a Carrington-class event to impact the Earth today, speculation holds that damage might occur to global power grids and electronics on a scale never yet experienced. The featured aurora was imaged in 2016 over Thingvallavatn Lake in Iceland, a lake that partly fills a fault that divides Earth's large Eurasian and North American tectonic plates.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230730.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

"I wish you a wonderful and peaceful
good morning with this fantastic panorama by Jeff Dai"

2024 June 26
Timelapse: Aurora, SAR, and the Milky Way
* Video Credit & Copyright: Jeff Dai (TWAN);
https://twanight.org/profile/jeff-dai/

* Music: Ibaotu catalog number 771024 (Used with permission)

Explanation:
What's happening in the sky this unusual night? Most striking in the featured 4.5-hour 360-degree panoramic video, perhaps, is the pink and purple aurora. That's because this night, encompassing May 11, was famous for its auroral skies around the world. As the night progresses, auroral bands shimmer, the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy rises, and stars shift as the Earth rotates beneath them. Captured here simultaneously is a rare red band running above the aurora: a SAR arc, seen to change only slightly. The flashing below the horizon is caused by passing cars, while the moving spots in the sky are satellites and airplanes. The featured video was captured from Xinjiang, China with four separate cameras

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240626.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

2023 March 27

Aurora Over Arctic Henge
* Image Credit & Copyright: Cari Letelier
https://cariletelier.com/about/

Explanation:
Reports of powerful solar flares started a seven-hour quest north to capture modern monuments against an aurora-filled sky. The peaks of iconic Arctic Henge in Raufarhöfn in northern Iceland were already aligned with the stars: some are lined up toward the exact north from one side and toward exact south from the other. The featured image, taken after sunset late last month, looks directly south, but since the composite image covers so much of the sky, the north star Polaris is actually visible at the very top of the frame. Also visible are familiar constellations including the Great Bear (Ursa Major) on the left, and the Hunter (Orion) on the lower right. The quest was successful. The sky lit up dramatically with bright and memorable auroras that shimmered with amazing colors including red, pink, yellow, and green -- sometimes several at once.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230327.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

2023 July 4

Aurora over Icelandic Waterfall
* Image Credit & Copyright: Cari Letelier
https://www.instagram.com/cariletelier/

Explanation:
It seemed like the sky exploded. The original idea was to photograph an aurora over a waterfall. After waiting for hours under opaque clouds, though, hope was running out. Others left. Then, unexpectedly, the clouds moved away. Suddenly, particles from a large solar magnetic storm were visible impacting the Earth's upper atmosphere with full effect. The night sky filled with colors and motion in a thrilling auroral display. Struggling to steady the camera from high Earthly winds, the 34 exposures that compose the featured image were taken. The resulting featured composite image shows the photogenic Godafoss (Goðafoss) waterfall in northern Iceland in front of a very active aurora in late February. The solar surface explosion that expelled the energetic particles occurred a few days before. Our Sun is showing an impressive amount of surface activity as it approaches solar maximum, indicating that more impressive auroras are likely to appear in Earth's northern and southern sky over the next few years.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230704.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

"I'm thinking about designing my next TOPIC> as 'FOLLOWERS ONLY' .. would that be ok for you?
Bots-requests would not be accepted."

"This huge photo of LI Hang was originally 4906x10451 pixels and 5.71 Mb too big to upload, but defcon.social is already very generous in terms of dimensions and file size. After editing it with the command: 'convert in.jpg -resize 3755x8000 out.jpg', I was able to upload it, but the file size had grown to 7.05 MB. That doesn't really make sense..
Does anyone know of a more appropriate imagemagick command without increasing the file size and without losing quality?
I would be happy about suggestions .."
@support

2023 July 2

Milky Way and Aurora over Antarctica
* Image Credit & Copyright: LI Hang
https://www.weibo.com/lihang999
https://www.laitimes.com/en/article/3s9q7_48yph.html
https://pole.whu.edu.cn/en/gb_news.php?modid=02002&id=35

Explanation:
It was one of the better skies of this long night. In parts of Antarctica, not only is it winter, but the Sun can spend weeks below the horizon. At China's Zhongshan Station, people sometimes venture out into the cold to photograph a spectacular night sky. The featured image from one such outing was taken in mid-July of 2015, just before the end of this polar night. Pointing up, the wide angle lens captured not only the ground at the bottom, but at the top as well. In the foreground, a colleague is taking pictures. In the distance, a spherical satellite receiver and several windmills are visible. Numerous stars dot the night sky, including Sirius and Canopus. Far in the background, stretching overhead from horizon to horizon, is the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy. Even further in the distance, visible as extended smudges near the top, are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, satellite galaxies near our huge Milky Way Galaxy.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230702.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

"Do you see their nests? A pretty hip and chic residential area for white storks:
https://ourtour.co.uk/home/storks-and-art-in-los-barruecos-caceres/
https://animal.dearjulius.com/2019/08/white-storks-in-spain.html
https://visit-western-spain.com/los-barruecos-natural-park/ "

2023 April 25

Northern Lights over Southern Europe
* Image Credit & Copyright: Lorenzo Cordero
https://www.instagram.com/elcielodecaceres/

Explanation:
Did you see an aurora over the past two nights (2023)? Many people who don't live in Earth's far north did. Reports of aurora came in not only from northern locales in the USA as Alaska, but as far south as Texas and Arizona. A huge auroral oval extended over Europe and Asia, too. Pictured, an impressively red aurora was captured last night near the town of Cáceres in central Spain. Auroras were also reported in parts of southern Spain. The auroras resulted from a strong Coronal Mass Event (CME) that occurred on the Sun a few days ago. Particles from the CME crossed the inner Solar System before colliding with the Earth's magnetosphere. From there, electrons and protons spiraled down the Earth's northern magnetic field lines and collided with oxygen and nitrogen in Earth's atmosphere, causing picturesque auroral glows. Our unusually active Sun may provide future opportunities to see the northern lights in southern skies.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230425.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

".. so so..
so you would also dare to climb up there and stand for the snapshot at the snowy and icy abyss? But do you also dare to send this testimony of your daring to your mom on Mother's Day? Bet that not.."

2023 January 22

In Green Company: Aurora over Norway
* Image Credit & Copyright: Max Rive
https://www.instagram.com/maxrivephotography/

Explanation:
Raise your arms if you see an aurora. With those instructions, two nights went by with, well, clouds -- mostly. On the third night of returning to same peaks, though, the sky not only cleared up but lit up with a spectacular auroral display. Arms went high in the air, patience and experience paid off, and the creative featured image was captured as a composite from three separate exposures. The setting is a summit of the Austnesfjorden fjord close to the town of Svolvear on the Lofoten islands in northern Norway. The time was early 2014. Although our Sun passed the solar minimum of its 11-year cycle only a few years ago, surface activity is picking up and already triggering more spectacular auroras here on Earth.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230122.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

2023 January 11

Spiral Aurora over Iceland
* Image Credit & Copyright: Stefano Pellegrini
https://www.instagram.com/pels_photo/
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/arctic/northern-lights-photographer-of-the-year-winners

Explanation:
The scene may look like a fantasy, but it's really Iceland. The rock arch is named Gatklettur and located on the island's northwest coast. Some of the larger rocks in the foreground span a meter across. The fog over the rocks is really moving waves averaged over long exposures. The featured image is a composite of several foreground and background shots taken with the same camera and from the same location on the same night last November. The location was picked for its picturesque foreground, but the timing was planned for its colorful background: aurora. The spiral aurora, far behind the arch, was one of the brightest seen in the astrophotographer's life. The coiled pattern was fleeting, though, as auroral patterns waved and danced for hours during the cold night. Far in the background were the unchanging stars, with Earth's rotation causing them to appear to slowly circle the sky's northernmost point near Polaris.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230111.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

"I'm thinking about designing my next TOPIC> as 'FOLLOWERS ONLY' .. would that be ok for you?
Bots-requests would not be accepted."

2022 April 4

A Vortex Aurora over Iceland
* Image Credit & Copyright: Christophe Suarez
https://france3-regions.franceinfo.fr/provence-alpes-cote-d-azur/alpes-maritimes/nice/photos-je-suis-temoin-de-phenomenes-encore-tres-mysterieux-ce-chasseur-d-orages-immortalise-les-cadeaux-du-ciel-3020456.html

Explanation:
No, the car was not in danger of being vacuumed into space by the big sky vortex. For one reason, the vortex was really an aurora, and since auroras are created by particles striking the Earth from space, they do not create a vacuum. This rapidly developing auroral display was caused by a Coronal Mass Ejection from the Sun that passed by the Earth closely enough to cause a ripple in Earth's magnetosphere. The upper red parts of the aurora occur over 250 kilometers high with its red glow created by atmospheric atomic oxygen directly energized by incoming particles. The lower green parts of the aurora occur over 100 kilometers high with its green glow created by atmospheric atomic oxygen energized indirectly by collisions with first-energized molecular nitrogen. Below 100 kilometers, there is little atomic oxygen, which is why auroras end abruptly. The concentric cylinders depict a dramatic auroral corona as seen from the side. The featured image was created from a single 3-second exposure taken in mid-March over Lake Myvatn in Iceland.
https://science.nasa.gov/heliophysics/focus-areas/magnetosphere-ionosphere/

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220404.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education

2022 March 22

A Whale of an Aurora over Swedish Forest
* Image Credit & Copyright: Göran Strand
https://astrofotografen.se/

Explanation:
What's that in the sky? An aurora. A large coronal mass ejection occurred on our Sun earlier this month, throwing a cloud of fast-moving electrons, protons, and ions toward the Earth. Part of this cloud impacted our Earth's magnetosphere and, bolstered by a sudden gap, resulted in spectacular auroras being seen at some high northern latitudes. Featured here is a particularly photogenic auroral corona captured above a forest in Sweden from a scenic perch overlooking the city of Östersund. To some, this shimmering green glow of recombining atmospheric oxygen might appear like a large whale, but feel free to share what it looks like to you. The unusually quiet Sun of the past few years has now passed. As our Sun now approaches a solar maximum in its 11-year solar magnetic cycle, dramatic auroras like this are sure to continue.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220322.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education

2022 February 20

Aurora Over White Dome Geyser
* Image Credit & Copyright: Robert Howell

Explanation:
Sometimes both heaven and Earth erupt. Colorful auroras erupted unexpectedly a few years ago, with green aurora appearing near the horizon and brilliant bands of red aurora blooming high overhead. A bright Moon lit the foreground of this picturesque scene, while familiar stars could be seen far in the distance. With planning, the careful astrophotographer shot this image mosaic in the field of White Dome Geyser in Yellowstone National Park in the western USA. Sure enough, just after midnight, White Dome erupted -- spraying a stream of water and vapor many meters into the air. Geyser water is heated to steam by scalding magma several kilometers below, and rises through rock cracks to the surface. About half of all known geysers occur in Yellowstone National Park. Although the geomagnetic storm that caused the auroras subsided within a day, eruptions of White Dome Geyser continue about every 30 minutes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Dome_Geyser

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220220.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

"Ok, before I go to sleep
one more for the road ;-)

I wish you a good night's sleep and colorful beautiful dreams.. Thank you for your attention, the many boosts and favorites to today's two topics and your kind words! I was very happy about that. Please consider following if you are human and no bot I follow back. It's just more fun when you know who you're putting time and love into the posts and topics for, isn't it? This Topic will be continued anyways .. see you soon"

2022 February 8

Aurora and Light Pillars over Norway
* Image Credit & Copyright: Alexandre Correia

Explanation:
Which half of this sky is your favorite? On the left, the night sky is lit up by particles expelled from the Sun that later collided with Earth's upper atmosphere — creating bright auroras. On the right, the night glows with ground lights reflected by millions of tiny ice crystals falling from the sky — creating light pillars. And in the center, the astrophotographer presents your choices. The light pillars are vertical columns because the fluttering ice-crystals are mostly flat to the ground, and their colors are those of the ground lights. The auroras cover the sky and ground in the green hue of glowing oxygen, while their transparency is clear because you can see stars right through them. Distant stars dot the background, including bright stars from the iconic constellation of Orion. The featured image was captured in a single exposure two months ago near Kautokeino, Norway.

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education

2021 September 12
The picture shows a dramatic spiral-shaped aurora over Iceland.

A Spiral Aurora over Iceland
* Image Credit & Copyright: Davide Necchi
https://davnec.eu/a-proposito-del-necchi/

Explanation:
What's happened to the sky? Aurora! Captured in 2015, this aurora was noted by Icelanders for its great brightness and quick development. The aurora resulted from a solar storm, with high energy particles bursting out from the Sun and through a crack in Earth's protective magnetosphere a few days later. Although a spiral pattern can be discerned, creative humans might imagine the complex glow as an atmospheric apparition of any number of common icons. In the foreground of the featured image is the Ölfusá River while the lights illuminate a bridge in Selfoss City. Just beyond the low clouds is a nearly full Moon. The liveliness of the Sun -- and likely the resulting auroras on Earth -- is slowly increasing as the Sun emerges from a Solar minimum, a historically quiet period in its 11-year cycle.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210912.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature

"I really hope you had a wonderful day and an exiting timeline. Have colorful dreams and a peaceful night.

Stay tuned and dig deeper, some posts have a bunch of url's some of them lead to mind-blowing and eye-opening websites."

2021 May 30

Aurora over Clouds
* Image Credit & Copyright: Daniele Boffelli

Explanation:
Auroras usually occur high above the clouds. The auroral glow is created when fast-moving particles ejected from the Sun impact the Earth's magnetosphere, from which charged particles spiral along the Earth's magnetic field to strike atoms and molecules high in the Earth's atmosphere. An oxygen atom, for example, will glow in the green light commonly emitted by an aurora after being energized by such a collision. The lowest part of an aurora will typically occur about 100 kilometers up, while most clouds exist only below about 10 kilometers. The relative heights of clouds and auroras are shown clearly in the featured picture in 2015 from Dyrholaey, Iceland. There, a determined astrophotographer withstood high winds and initially overcast skies in an attempt to capture aurora over a picturesque lighthouse, only to take, by chance, the featured picture including elongated lenticular clouds, along the way.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210530.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

2018 April 10

Dragon Aurora over Norway
* Image Credit & Copyright: Marco Bastoni

Explanation:
What's that in the sky? An aurora. A large coronal hole opened last month, a few days before this image was taken, throwing a cloud of fast moving electrons, protons, and ions toward the Earth. Some of this cloud impacted our Earth's magnetosphere and resulted in spectacular auroras being seen at high northern latitudes. Featured here is a particularly photogenic auroral curtain captured above Tromsø Norway. To the astrophotographer, this shimmering green glow of recombining atmospheric oxygen appeared as a large dragon, but feel free to share what it looks like to you. Although now past Solar Maximum, our Sun continues to show occasional activity creating impressive auroras on Earth visible even last week.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180410.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature

2018 May 1

The Aurora and the Sunrise
* Image Credit: NASA, International Space Station, Ricky Arnold
https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/

Explanation:
On the International Space Station (ISS), you can only admire an aurora until the sun rises. Then the background Earth becomes too bright. Unfortunately, after sunset, the rapid orbit of the ISS around the Earth means that sunrise is usually less than 47 minutes away. In the featured image, a green aurora is visible below the ISS -- and on the horizon to the upper right, while sunrise approaches ominously from the upper left. Watching an aurora from space can be mesmerizing as its changing shape has been compared to a giant green amoeba. Auroras are composed of energetic electrons and protons from the Sun that impact the Earth's magnetic field and then spiral down toward the Earth so fast that they cause atmospheric atoms and molecules to glow. The ISS orbits at nearly the same height as auroras, many times flying right through an aurora's thin upper layers, an event that neither harms astronauts nor changes the shape of the aurora.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/flying-through-an-aurora/

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180501.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #nature #education

"Hey,
may i take you on a ride through the twilight into the night sky?? OK, buckle up and off we go .. scroll upwards if you dare to!"

2013 March 31

Flying Over the Earth at Night
* Video Credit: Gateway to Astronaut Photography, NASA
https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/
http://www.nasa.gov/;
* Compilation: David Peterson https://www.youtube.com/user/Bitmeizer;
* Music: Freedom Fighters (Two Steps from Hell)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Steps_from_Hell

Explanation:
Many wonders are visible when flying over the Earth at night. A compilation of such visual spectacles was captured recently from the International Space Station (ISS) and set to rousing music. Passing below are white clouds, orange city lights, lightning flashes in thunderstorms, and dark blue seas. On the horizon is the golden haze of Earth's thin atmosphere, frequently decorated by dancing auroras as the video progresses. The green parts of auroras typically remain below the space station, but the station flies right through the red and purple auroral peaks. Solar panels of the ISS are seen around the frame edges. The ominous wave of approaching brightness at the end of each sequence is just the dawn of the sunlit half of Earth, a dawn that occurs every 90 minutes.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130331.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #4sAur

2024 August 16

Meteor Borealis
* Image Credit & Copyright: Jason Dain

Explanation:
A single exposure made with a camera pointed almost due north on August 12 recorded this bright Perseid meteor in the night sky west of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The meteor's incandescent trace is fleeting. It appears to cross the stars of the Big Dipper, famous northern asterism and celestial kitchen utensil, while shimmering curtains of aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, dance in the night. Doubling the wow factor for night skywatchers near the peak of this year's Perseid meteor shower auroral activity on planet Earth was enhanced by geomagnetic storms. The intense space weather was triggered by flares from an active Sun.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240816.htmlhttps://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240816.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #4sAur

2011 September 23

September's Aurora
* Image Credit & Copyright: Yuichi Takasaka / TWAN / www.blue-moon.ca
https://twanight.org/profile/yuichi-takasaka/

Explanation:
September's equinox arrived that day at 0905 UT. As the Sun crosses the celestial equator heading south, spring begins in the southern hemisphere and autumn in the north. And though the seasonal connection is still puzzling, both spring and autumn bring an increase in geomagnetic storms. So as northern nights grow longer, the equinox also heralds the arrival of a good season for viewing aurora. Recorded earlier this month, these curtains of September's shimmering green light sprawl across a gorgeous night skyscape. In the foreground lies Hidden Lake Territorial Park near Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Calm water reflects the aurora, with bright star trails peering through the mesmerizing sky glow. Of course, shining at altitudes of 100 kilometers or so, planet Earth's auroras are visible from space.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110923.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #4sAur

2018 September 22

Window Seat over Hudson Bay
* Image Credit & Copyright: Ralf Rohner
https://ralf-rohner.pixels.com/

Explanation:
On the August 18 night flight from San Francisco to Zurich, a window seat offered this tantalizing view when curtains of light draped a colorful glow across the sky over Hudson Bay. Constructed by digitally stacking six short exposures made with a hand held camera, the scene records the shimmering aurora borealis or northern lights just as the approaching high altitude sunrise illuminated the northeastern horizon. It also caught the flash of a Perseid meteor streaking beneath the handle stars of the Big Dipper of the north. A few days past the meteor shower's peak, its trail still points across the sky toward Perseus. Beautiful aurorae and shower meteors both occur in Earth's upper atmosphere at altitudes of 100 kilometers or so, far above commercial airline flights. The aurora are caused by energetic charged particles from the magnetosphere, while meteors are trails of comet dust.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180922.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #4sAur

2018 December 9

Aurora Shimmer, Meteor Flash
* Image Credit & Copyright: Bjørnar G. Hansen

Explanation:
Some night skies are serene and passive -- others shimmer and flash. The later, in the form of auroras and meteors, haunted skies over the island of Kvaløya, near Tromsø Norway on 2009 December 13. This 30 second long exposure records a shimmering auroral glow gently lighting the wintery coastal scene. A study in contrasts, the image also captures the sudden flash of a fireball meteor from the excellent Geminid meteor shower of 2009. Streaking past familiar stars in the handle of the Big Dipper, the trail points back toward the constellation Gemini, off the top of the view. Both auroras and meteors occur in Earth's upper atmosphere at altitudes of 100 kilometers or so, but aurora caused by energetic charged particles from the magnetosphere, while meteors are trails of cosmic dust. Nine years after this photograph was taken, toward the end of this week, the yearly 2018 Geminids meteor shower will peak again, although this time their flashes will compete with the din of a half-lit first-quarter moon during the first half of the night.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap181209.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #4sAur

2013 November 18

Aurora and Unusual Clouds Over Iceland
* Image Credit & Copyright: Stéphane Vetter (Nuits sacrées)
http://www.nuitsacrees.fr/

Explanation:
What's happening in the sky? On this cold winter night in Iceland, quite a lot. First, in the foreground, lies the largest glacier in Iceland: Vatnajokull. On the far left, bright green auroras appear to emanate from the glacier as if it was a volcano. Aurora light is reflected by the foreground lake Jökulsárlón. On the far right is a long and unusual lenticular cloud tinged with green light emitted from another aurora well behind it. Just above this lenticular cloud are unusual iridescent lenticular clouds displaying a broad spectral range of colors. Far beyond the lenticular is the setting Moon, while far beyond even the Moon are setting stars. The above image was captured in late March of 2012.

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #4sAur

2023 September 16

Fireball over Iceland
* Image Credit & Copyright: Jennifer Franklin

Explanation:
On September 12, from a location just south of the Arctic Circle, stones of Iceland's modern Arctic Henge point skyward in this startling scene. Entertaining an intrepid group of aurora hunters during a geomagnetic storm, alluring northern lights dance across the darkened sky when a stunning fireball meteor explodes. Awestruck, the camera-equipped skygazers captured video and still images of the boreal bolide, at its peak about as bright as a full moon. Though quickly fading from view, the fireball left a lingering visible trail or persistent train. The wraith-like trail was seen for minutes wafting in the upper atmosphere at altitudes of 60 to 90 kilometers along with the auroral glow.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230916.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #4sAur

Fireball Above Iceland
by Babak Tafreshi
https://print.babaktafreshi.com/talks-workshops-tours

"On 2023 September 13, near the northern most point of Iceland, the night sky exploded with the northern lights and a spectacular fireball, above the Arctic Henge monument. I was about to move our group to another spot when this tennis-ball sized space rock entered the earth atmosphere and burned at an altitude of 60-90 km above us, becoming as bright as the full moon for a moment. Such meteors are very rare to witness. Even for a frequent observer like me it took three decades to finally record one in video!
I was on my biannual Aurora PhotoTour. My Icelandic colleague ‪Stjornu Saevar‬ appears near the clip’s end, on a phone interview with the local media about the meteor."

CREDIT
Babak Tafreshi

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #4sAur

2022 October 30

Night on a Spooky Planet
* Image Credit & Copyright: Stéphane Vetter (Nuits sacrées)
http://www.nuitsacrees.fr/

Explanation:
What spooky planet is this? Planet Earth of course, on a dark and stormy night in 2013 at Hverir, a geothermally active area along the volcanic landscape in northeastern Iceland. Triggered by solar activity, geomagnetic storms produced the auroral display in the starry night sky. The ghostly towers of steam and gas are venting from fumaroles and danced against the eerie greenish light. For now, auroral apparitions are increasing as our Sun approaches a maximum in its 11 year solar activity cycle. And pretty soon, ghostly shapes may dance in your neighborhood too.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221030.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #4sAur

2021 October 30

A Rorschach Aurora
* Image Credit & Copyright: Göran Strand
https://astrofotografen.se/

Explanation:
If you see this as a monster's face, don't panic. It's only pareidolia, often experienced as the tendency to see faces in patterns of light and shadow. In fact, the startling visual scene is actually a 180 degree panorama of Northern Lights, digitally mirrored like inkblots on a folded piece of paper. Frames used to construct it were captured on a September night from the middle of a waterfall-crossing suspension bridge in Jamtland, Sweden. With geomagnetic storms triggered by recent solar activity, auroral displays could be very active at planet Earth's high latitudes in the coming days. But if you see a monster's face in your own neighborhood tomorrow night, it might just be Halloween.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211030.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #4sAur

2021 December 13

Meteors and Auroras over Iceland
* Image Credit & Copyright: James Boardman-Woodend
https://www.flickr.com/photos/126180225@N06/
* Annotation: Judy Schmidt (see next post)

Explanation:
What's going on behind that mountain? Quite a bit. First of all, the mountain itself, named Kirkjufell, is quite old and located in western Iceland near the town of Grundarfjörður. In front of the steeply-sloped structure lies a fjord that had just begun to freeze when the above image was taken -- in mid-December of 2012. Although quite faint to the unaided eye, the beautiful colors of background aurorae became quite apparent on the 25-second exposure. What makes this image of particular note, though, is that it also captures streaks from the Geminids meteor shower -- meteors that might not have been evident were the aurora much brighter. Far in the distance, on the left, is the band of our Milky Way Galaxy, while stars from our local part of the Milky Way appear spread across the background. Tonight the Geminids meteor shower peaks again and may well provide sky enthusiasts with their own memorable visual experiences.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211213.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #4sAur

2011 March 25

Auroral Substorm over Yellowknife
* Image Credit & Copyright: Kwon, O Chul
https://twanight.org/profile/kwon-o-chul/

Explanation:
Intense auroral activity flooded the night with shimmering colors on February 24, captured here from a lodge near the city of Yellowknife in northern Canada. The stunning sequence (left to right) of three all-sky exposures, taken at 30 second intervals, shows rapid changes in dancing curtains of northern lights against a starry background. What makes the northern lights dance? Measurements by NASA's fleet of THEMIS spacecraft indicate that these explosions of auroral activity are driven by sudden releases of energy in the Earth's magnetosphere called magnetic reconnection events. The reconnection events release energy when magnetic field lines snap like rubber bands, driving charged particles into the upper atmosphere. Stretching into space, these reconnection events occur in the magnetosphere on the Earth's night side at a distance about 1/3 of the way to the Moon.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110325.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #4sAur

2025 November 14

Florida Northern Lights
* Image Credit & Copyright: Samil Cabrera
https://www.instagram.com/astronycc/

Explanation:
Northern lights have come to Florida skies. In fact, the brilliant streak of a Northern Taurid meteor flashes through the starry night sky above the beach in this sea and skyscape, captured from Shired Island, Florida on November 11. Meteors from the annual Northern Taurid meteor shower are expected this time of year. But the digital camera exposure also records the shimmering glow of aurora, a phenomenon more often seen from our fair planet's higher geographical latitudes. Also known as aurora borealis, these northern lights are part of recent, wide spread auroral activity caused by strong geomagnetic storms. In the last few days, stormy spaceweather has been triggered by multiple Earth impacting coronal mass ejections and intense solar activity.
https://spaceweathergallery2.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=228413
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/g3-strong-geomagnetic-storming-continues-g4-severe-still-expected
https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/taurid-meteors-all-you-need-to-know/
https://earthsky.org/sun/sun-news-activity-solar-flare-cme-aurora-updates/

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251114.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #4sAur #apod

2025 December 12

Northern Fox Fires
* Image Credit & Copyright: Dennis Lehtonen
https://denniina.com/

Explanation:
In a Finnish myth, when an arctic fox runs so fast that its bushy tail brushes the mountains, flaming sparks are cast into the heavens creating the northern lights. In fact the Finnish word "revontulet", a name for the aurora borealis or northern lights, can be translated as fire fox. So that evocative myth took on a special significance for the photographer of this northern night skyscape from Finnish Lapland near Kilpisjarvi Lake. The snowy scene is illuminated by moonlight. Saana, an iconic fell or mountain of Lapland, rises at the right in the background. But as the beautiful nothern lights danced overhead, the wild fire fox in the foreground enthusiastically ran around the photographer and his equipment, making it difficult to capture in this lucky single shot.
https://aurora-nights.co.uk/aurora-academy/what-are-the-northern-lights/sami-view-of-the-northern-lights/
https://science.nasa.gov/sun/auroras/

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap251212.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #4sAur #apod

2023 November 17

Nightlights in Qeqertaq
* Image Credit & Copyright: Dennis Lehtonen
https://denniina.com/

Explanation:
Light pollution is usually not a problem in Qeqertaq. In western Greenland the remote coastal village boasted a population of 114 in 2020. Lights still shine in its dark skies though. During planet Earth's recent intense geomagnetic storm, on November 6 these beautiful curtains of aurora borealis fell over the arctic realm. On the eve of the coming weeks of polar night at 70 degrees north latitude, the inspiring display of northern lights is reflected in the waters of Disko Bay. In this view from the isolated settlement a lone iceberg is illuminated by shore lights as it drifts across the icy sea.
https://denniina.com/gallery/23-24
https://www.instagram.com/p/CzVRGZlMyu_/
https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/polar-night.html
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/thinning-of-the-northeast-greenland-ice-stream-150801/

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/fap/ap251212.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #4sAur