                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2022 February 8

                    Aurora and Light Pillars over Norway
                 Image Credit & Copyright: Alexandre Correia

   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.

     Favorite sky half: Left half (aurora) | Right half (light pillars)
                 Tomorrow's picture: to circle a dying star
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

