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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
earlier this month.
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.
No sunspots have appeared
on the Sun so far in February, making the multiple days of
picturesque auroral activity this month somewhat surprising.
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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: