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Credit & Copyright: Daniel Koszela
Explanation:
It was the first time ever.
At least, the first time this photographer
had ever seen aurora from his home mountains.
And what a
spectacular aurora it was.
The Karkonosze Mountains in
Poland
are usually too far south to see any auroras.
But on the
amazing
night
of May 10 - 11, purple and green colors lit up much of the night sky,
a surprising spectacle that
also appeared over many mid-latitude
locations around the Earth.
The
featured image is a composite of
six vertical exposures taken during the auroral peak.
The futuristic buildings on the right are part of a
meteorological observatory located on the highest peak of the
Karkonosze Mountains.
The purple color is primarily due to
Sun-triggered, high-energy
electrons impacting
nitrogen molecules in
Earth's atmosphere.
Our Sun is reaching its maximum
surface activity over the next two years,
and although many more
auroras are predicted,
most will occur over regions closer to the
Earth's poles.
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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
Publications with words: aurora
See also:
- Aurora Australis and the International Space Station
- APOD: 2024 June 26 Á Timelapse: Aurora, SAR, and the Milky Way
- APOD: 2024 May 20 Á Aurora Dome Sky
- Aurora Banks Peninsula
- APOD: 2024 January 14 Á Dragon Aurora over Iceland
- APOD: 2024 January 3 Á A SAR Arc from New Zealand
- APOD: 2023 December 12 Á Aurora and Milky Way over Norway