Gorgeous Aurora Over Norway

[pokerfan]

Explanation: Auroras can make spectacular sights. Photographed above last weekend, flowing multi-colored auroras helped illuminate a busy sky above Tromsø, Norway. Besides the spectacular aurora pictured above, the photographer caught three satellites streaks, one airplane streak, and a friend trying to capture the same sight. Although auroras might first appear to be moonlit clouds, they only add light to the sky and do not block background stars from view. Called northern lights in the northern hemisphere, auroras are caused by collisions between charged particles from the magnetosphere and air molecules high in the Earth's atmosphere. If viewed from space, auroras can be seen to glow in X-ray and ultraviolet light as well. Predictable auroras might occur a few days after a powerful magnetic event has been seen on the Sun.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100920.html

[Faygo Kid]

1. Thanks for posting this.

I visited Norway in 1973 while in college, and went all the way north to Narvik.

Dad's side of the family were all Norwegian. Mom's were all Swedish. I'm conflicted.

[monmouth]

3. You are rapidly becoming my favorite poster. First some great music

and now this gorgeous photo that shall become my new desktop image. Am forwarding to my eldest son who so loves pics like this. He's outside all of the time in the evening with his way too expensive telescope...LOL. Thank you.

[pokerfan]

9. great music? where?

:hi:

[monmouth]

11. At he Lounge the other day he posted some old Dean Martin...sigh..

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. My dear pokerfan!

That is breathtaking!

Thank you for bringing this to us...

Recommended.

[Control-Z]

4. Breathtaking!

Thank you for posting, pokerfan.

[Cleita]

5. That's a beauty.

I've seen the aurora three times in my life but never saw any as spectacular and lovely as that. However, what are those rod like structures in the picture, the largest in middle right towards the bottom of the picture? Are they some sort of weird aircraft or flaws in the photo? Oh they are satellite streaks. I should have read the whole post. My bad.

[starroute]

6. That one and more are available at spaceweather.com

Their September 2001 aurora photo gallery is at http://www.spaceweather.com/aurora/gallery_01sep10_page3.htm?PHPSESSID=qscp8qdoqisntrpd8j6jesd276

[trusty elf]

7. Stunning! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

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[BadgerKid]

8. Sweet pic! Thx! n/t

[HuckleB]

10. Gorgeous! Thanks!

[Change Happens]

12. Nice, thanks.