Starship Asterisk*

Auroral Corona over Norway

Explanation: Higher than the highest mountain 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 atoms and molecules in the Earth's atmosphere. Somewhat uncommon, an auroral corona appears as a center point for a surrounding display and may occur when an aurora develops directly overhead, or when auroral rays are pointed nearly toward the observer. This picturesque but brief green and purple aurora exhibition occurred last month high above Kvaløya, Tromsø, Norway. The Sessøyfjorden fjord runs through the foreground, while numerous stars are visible far in the distance.

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Awesome display....interesting perspective, basically right under one...

Love the colors.
:---[===] *

Just below centre in the picture, there are two faint white streaks - almost horizontal. The picture itself seems to be a short exposure as the stars remain points. Could it be meteors?

Does Norway have special attributes that attract celestial events or is it where photographers like to live ?

ta152h0 wrote:Does Norway have special attributes that attract celestial events or is it where photographers like to live ?

It is well situated with respect to the Earth's magnetic pole to experience auroras. And having a healthy, wealthy population with the time and resources to record those auroras doesn't hurt, either.

guess that's a good explanation
I spent a termn at the University of Oslo but didn't manage to go to the north to see aurora during winter time.
Seeing such pictures makes me think I should have...

Yes, if you're talking about auroras, Tromso is one of the best locations in the world for it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/2 ... 14506.html