Credit & Copyright: Julien Looten
Explanation:
This broad,
luminous
red arc
was a surprising visitor to
partly cloudy evening skies over northern France.
Captured extending toward the zenith in a
west-to-east mosaic
of images from November 5,
the faint atmospheric ribbon of light is
an example of a Stable Auroral Red (SAR) arc.
The rare
night
sky phenomenon
was also spotted at
unusually low latitudes around world,
along with more dynamic auroral displays
during an
intense
geomagnetic storm.
SAR arcs and their relation to auroral emission have been
explored
by citizen science
and
satellite investigations.
From altitudes substantially above the normal auroral glow,
the deep red SAR emission is thought to be caused by strong heating
due to currents flowing in
planet Earth's inner
magnetosphere.
Beyond this SAR, the Milky Way arcs above the cloud banks
along the horizon,
a regular visitor to night skies over northern France.
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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:
- 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
- APOD: 2024 June 12 Á Aurora over Karkonosze Mountains