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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
in 2019.
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.
Our active Sun continues to show an unusually high number of
prominences,
filaments,
sunspots, and
large active regions as
solar maximum approaches in 2025.
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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: