August 7, 2005
Galaxies were colliding long before you were born, and they will keep colliding long after us all.
Dueling Auroras
Birthday · August 7, 2005
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
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APOD published August 7, 2005. Credit: Phil Hoffman. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Will it be curtains for one of these auroras? A quick inspection indicates that it is curtains for both, as the designation "curtains" well categorizes the type of aurora pattern pictured. Another (informal) type is the corona. The above auroras resulted from outbursts of ionic particles from the Sun during the last week of 2001 September. A polarity change in the solar magnetic field at the Earth then triggered auroras over the next few days. The above picture was taken on 2001 October 3 as fleeting space radiation pelted the Earth's atmosphere high above the Yukon in Canada.
Image credit: Phil Hoffman