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Credit & Copyright: Randy Halverson  
  
  
Explanation:
Wind and spaceweather  
are transformed in this haunting  
night skyscape.  
  
The prairie windmill and colorful auroral display  
were captured on October 1, from central South Dakota, USA,  
as a good season for  
aurora hunters came with longer autumn nights.  
  
From green to rarer reddish hues, the northern lights  
are sparked by the geomagnetic storms caused by solar activity.  
  
These  
extend far above the cloud bank to altitudes well  
over 100 kilometers, against the backdrop of distant stars in  
the northern night.  
  
Visual  
double  
star Mizar, marking the middle of  
the Big Dipper's  
handle, is easy to spot at the left edge of the frame.  
  
The dipper's North Celestial Pole pointers  
Merak and Dubhe  
line up vertically near picture center.  
  
   
 Note:  How to find  
APOD  
Alternative Mirror Sites 
  
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: aurora - space weather
Publications with words: aurora - space weather
See also:
- APOD: 2025 January 7 Á A New Years Aurora and SAR Arc
- APOD: 2024 December 8 Á Aurora around Saturns North Pole
- APOD: 2024 October 16 Á Colorful Aurora over New Zealand
- APOD: 2024 October 13 Á Aurora Timelapse Over Italian Alps
- Northern Lights, West Virginia
- Aurora Australis and the International Space Station
- APOD: 2024 June 26 Á Timelapse: Aurora, SAR, and the Milky Way
