Astronomy Picture of the Day
    


A Floral Aurora Corona
<< Yesterday 28.07.2009 Tomorrow >>
A Floral Aurora Corona
Credit & Copyright: Zoltan Kenwell (Infocus Imagery)
Explanation: Few auroras show this level of detail. Above, a standard digital camera captured a particularly active and colorful auroral corona that occurred last week above Alberta, Canada. With a shape reminiscent of a flower, the spectacular aurora had an unusually high degree of detail. The vivid green and purple auroral colors are caused by high atmospheric oxygen and hydrogen reacting to a burst of incoming electrons. Many photogenic auroras have been triggered from a solar wind stream that recently passed the Earth. The auroras were unexpected because the initiating Sun has been unusually quiet of late.


Note: An APOD editor will review great space images this Saturday night at Ft. Wilkins, Michigan.

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
 < July 2009  >
Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su


12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
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 - solar wind
Publications with words: aurora - solar wind
See also:
All publications on this topic >>