February 1, 2009
In the grand ledger of cosmic time, a human life is breathtakingly brief. But brevity is not insignificance.
Auroral Corona Over Norway
Birthday · February 1, 2009
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APOD published February 1, 2009. Credit: highest communications tower. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Higher than highest communications tower, higher than highest mountain, higher than highest airplane, lies the realm of the aurora. Auroras rarely reach below 60 kilometers, and can range up to 1000 kilometers. Aurora light results from energetic electrons and protons striking molecules in the Earth's atmosphere. Frequently, when viewed from space, a complete aurora will appear as a circle around one of the Earth's magnetic poles. This particularly rare purple auroral corona occurred in 2004 high above Harstad, Norway.
Image credit: highest communications tower