September 28, 2004
Another year older means another lap aboard a world spinning through the void at impossible speed.
Aurora Over a Communications Tower
Birthday · September 28, 2004
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APOD published September 28, 2004. 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. Pictured above is a particularly rare purple auroral corona that occurred on August 30, high above Harstad, Norway.
Image credit: highest communications tower