Starship Asterisk*

Aurora over Clouds

Explanation: Auroras usually occur high above the clouds. The auroral glow is created when fast-moving particles ejected from the Sun impact the Earth's magnetosphere, from which charged particles spiral along the Earth's magnetic field to strike atoms and molecules high in the Earth's atmosphere. An oxygen atom, for example, will glow in the green light commonly emitted by an aurora after being energized by such a collision. The lowest part of an aurora will typically occur at 100 kilometers up, while most clouds usually exist only below about 10 kilometers. The relative heights of clouds and auroras are shown clearly in the featured picture from Dyrholaey, Iceland. There, a determined astrophotographer withstood high winds and initially overcast skies in an attempt to a capture aurora over a picturesque lighthouse, only to take, by chance, the featured picture along the way.

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Wonderful image.

Forty years ago I lived in Fairbanks (about the same latitude as Iceland), where aurorae were common and active, however I have never seen such an amazing auroral display.

I have always lived to far south to see auroral display. It is on my bucket list.

Nice work Mr. Boffelli!

This is very dramatic, like something out of a dream, love it!

APOD Robot wrote:There, a determined astrophotographer

I would say he's more of a terrestrial photographer than astrophotographer.

I wonder if anyone, like me, zoomed in hoping to get lost in it only to find the detail ran out too soon? Truly awesome; inspirational, even.

locobonobo wrote:
I wonder if anyone, like me, zoomed in hoping to get lost in it only to find the detail ran out too soon? Truly awesome; inspirational, even.

I was able to see this guy.

Well, that makes you very lucky, my new mate. I assume it is Dali - a gifted artist who had serious intent and made that beautiful. Sometimes. The beauty of this photo for me, however, is that there is no intent - it just is. It is a good theme for meditation, maybe, if you were that way inclined.

There have been some stunning galactic apods recently, and they are fascinating and glorious and thought provoking. But this picture is human and touching. It is sublime.

I meant sub-lime.

Some of those clouds look Lenticular...or is that just appearance from a longer exposure?

Really nice display!!

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neufer wrote:

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locobonobo wrote:
I wonder if anyone, like me, zoomed in hoping to get lost in it only to find the detail ran out too soon? Truly awesome; inspirational, even.

I was able to see this guy.

That's nothing new for you, neufer, you're a wiz at finding such things.

Boomer12k wrote:Some of those clouds look Lenticular...or is that just appearance from a longer exposure?

Really nice display!!

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Hi Boomer12k

In a description with the image in Daniele Boffelli's section in 500px (found through his name link to his Facebook account) it states "One of the most amazing night of my life. Aurora borealis plus lenticular clouds. The house is the lighthouse keeper's house...". I was unable though to find any more information as it seemed that I would need to provide 500px with my details.