July 28, 2009
The atoms in your body have known many forms: star core, drifting dust, ocean mineral, living cell.
A Floral Aurora Corona
Birthday · July 28, 2009
A little universe, just for you
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APOD published July 28, 2009. Credit: Zoltan Kenwell (Infocus Imagery). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
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.
Image credit: Zoltan Kenwell (Infocus Imagery)