← Another date

Birthday · May 18, 2015

Auroras and Star Trails over Iceland

May 18, 2015

The Earth has carried you around the Sun again, steady as ever, while the stars kept their patient watch.

Auroras and Star Trails over Iceland

A little universe, just for you

Your date.
Ready to give.

Free PNG · 1080 × 1350 · No account needed

Image rights and credit requirements apply when sharing or reusing imagery.

Change the year

APOD published May 18, 2015. Credit: Vincent Brady. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.

Behind the image

Auroras and Star Trails over Iceland

Original APOD · May 18, 2015

It was one of the quietest nights of aurora in weeks. Even so, in northern- Iceland during last November, faint auroras lit up the sky every clear night. The featured 360-degree panorama is the digital fusion of four wide-angle cameras each simultaneously taking 101 shots over 42 minutes. In the foreground is serene Lake Myvatn dotted with picturesque rock formations left over from ancient lava flows. Low green auroras sweep across the sky above showing impressive complexity near the horizon. Stars far in the distance appear to show unusual trails -- as the Earth turned -- because early exposures were artificially faded. Follow APOD on: Facebook, Google Plus, or Twitter

Image credit: Vincent Brady

Explore May 18 in other years