NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day for January 22, 2023 is a stunning view of the aurora over Norway after a solar flare hit Erath.
The sun can’t be calm these days! Ongoing activity on the sun is releasing solar flares that cause magnetic storms when they hit Earth. The most fascinating effect of these violent solar flares is the aurora! The sun passed through its 11-year cycle of solar minimum just a few years ago, but surface activity is picking up and already sparking more spectacular auroras here on Earth. However, this spectacular image – shared by NASA as its January 22 Astronomy Picture of the Day – was taken in 2014 – and it’s a breathtaking view of the aurora over Norway.
NASA explained it this way, “If you see an aurora, please raise your arms. Following these instructions, two nights passed, well, most of the time was cloudy. However, after returning On the third night on the same mountain, the sky not only cleared, but lit up with a spectacular aurora.”
“With arms raised, patience and experience paid off, the creative featured image was composited from three separate exposures,” NASA added. The scene in the image was set in the Austnesfjorden fjord, Lofoten Islands, northern Norway, in early 2014 the top of the mountain. But how do these stunning auroras form here on Earth?
How did the aurora form?
Auroras are basically mesmerizing lights in the sky, the aftermath of geomagnetic storms. NASA explained that auroras occur when charged particles from the sun become trapped in Earth’s magnetic environment.
Collisions of charged particles can strike oxygen molecules that take on green and red hues. Other blues and purples are caused by nitrogen molecules colliding with charged particles.
Do you know?
You’ll be surprised to know that the aurora doesn’t just happen on Earth! If a planet has an atmosphere and a magnetic field, they likely have auroras. NASA earlier shared some stunning images of the auroras on Jupiter and Saturn.