Starship Asterisk*

Aurora and Light Pillars over Norway

Explanation: Which half of this sky is your favorite? On the left, the night sky is lit up by particles expelled from the Sun that later collided with Earth's upper atmosphere — creating bright auroras. On the right, the night glows with ground lights reflected by millions of tiny ice crystals falling from the sky — creating light pillars. And in the center, the astrophotographer presents your choices. The light pillars are vertical columns because the fluttering ice-crystals are mostly flat to the ground, and their colors are those of the ground lights. The auroras cover the sky and ground in the green hue of glowing oxygen, while their transparency is clear because you can see stars right through them. Distant stars dot the background, including bright stars from the iconic constellation of Orion. The featured image was captured in a single exposure two months ago near Kautokeino, Norway.

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It's amazing that there is only one exposure. Never would I have imagined that the Northern Lights would have such a degree of intensity and reflection in the snow.

Alex_515 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 7:08 am It's amazing that there is only one exposure. Never would I have imagined that the Northern Lights would have such a degree of intensity and reflection in the snow.

I guarantee you it didn't look like that to the naked eye!

The camera picks out the aurora, our eyes don't quite have that sensitive in those frequencies...Still beautiful.

God, what beautiful work!

Eric

Okay… who lit the astrophotographer’s head?

Considering that the light pillars I have seen are never as bright as flood lights and considering that you can even see hundreds of stars in the frame, I believe the intensity of the light in the single exposure wasn't taken just by a snap camera, but the exposure was for quite a lonng time. Maybe 15 to 20 minutes is my guess.

De58te wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 2:04 pm Considering that the light pillars I have seen are never as bright as flood lights and considering that you can even see hundreds of stars in the frame, I believe the intensity of the light in the single exposure wasn't taken just by a snap camera, but the exposure was for quite a lonng time. Maybe 15 to 20 minutes is my guess.

We still see structure in the aurora. I'd guess the exposure was somewhere between 5 and 30 seconds.

Given the choice; I pick the light pillar side! While I like Auroras
very much; this is a bit overdone, Too much green! Of coarse that is
my own opinion! This is very pretty! Looks like kitty is bored!

Tszabeau wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 12:30 pm Okay… who lit the astrophotographer’s head?

My first thought was...
Klaatu barada nikto.

I'd have to vote for "Aurion" But the entire image is much better on high-res!

Begs the question why some APOD's aren't presented in a fully resolved format.

Fred the Cat wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 8:48 pm Begs the question why some APOD's aren't presented in a fully resolved format. :?

"Fully resolved format"?

They're scaled for the main page, which links to whatever maximum size the imager provided.

Chris Peterson wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 8:54 pm

Fred the Cat wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 8:48 pm Begs the question why some APOD's aren't presented in a fully resolved format.

"Fully resolved format"?

They're scaled for the main page, which links to whatever maximum size the imager provided.

I often forget to "click" on the image to see it in full resolution.

Keyman wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 2:21 pm

Tszabeau wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 12:30 pm Okay… who lit the astrophotographer’s head?

My first thought was...
Klaatu barada nikto.

Must be Klaatu's laser beam. (Or a head lamp)

Yes, the figure does look a little like Gort, from the 1951 film.

Fred the Cat wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 9:00 pm

Chris Peterson wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 8:54 pm

Fred the Cat wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 8:48 pm Begs the question why some APOD's aren't presented in a fully resolved format.

"Fully resolved format"?

They're scaled for the main page, which links to whatever maximum size the imager provided.

I often forget to "click" on the image to see it in full resolution.

Keyman wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 2:21 pm

Tszabeau wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 12:30 pm Okay… who lit the astrophotographer’s head?

My first thought was...
Klaatu barada nikto.

Must be Klaatu's laser beam. (Or a head lamp)
Klattos Head Lamp.jpeg

Ah Ha! So, THAT’S where astrophotographers come from. Mystery solved.