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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.
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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 borealis - meteor
Publications with words: aurora borealis - meteor
See also: