Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]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
    [2]The featured image shows the photographer standing beneath a night
     sky with green aurora on the left and colorful light pillars on the
      right. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                    Aurora and Light Pillars over Norway
               Image Credit & Copyright: [3]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 [4]Sun that later
   collided with [5]Earth's upper atmosphere — creating bright auroras. On
   the right, the night glows with ground lights reflected by millions of
   tiny [6]ice crystals falling from the sky — creating [7]light pillars.
   And in the center, the astrophotographer presents your choices. The
   [8]light pillars are vertical columns because the fluttering
   ice-crystals are [9]mostly flat to the ground, and their colors are
   those of the ground lights. The auroras cover the sky and ground in the
   [10]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
   [11]Orion. The featured image was captured in a single exposure two
   months ago near [12]Kautokeino, [13]Norway.

      Favorite sky half: [14]Left half (aurora) | [15]Right half (light
                                  pillars)
                 Tomorrow's picture: to circle a dying star
     __________________________________________________________________

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                                    [26]>
     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [27]Robert Nemiroff ([28]MTU) & [29]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([30]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [31]Specific rights apply.
              [32]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [33]ASD at [34]NASA / [35]GSFC
                           & [36]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2202/AuroraPillars_Correia_4898.jpg
   3. mailto: agcorreia at me dot com
   4. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/overview/
   5. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/science/mos-upper-atmosphere.html
   6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_crystals
   7. http://www.atoptics.co.uk/halo/lpil.htm
   8. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160208.html
   9. https://ap-pics2.gotpoem.com/ap-pics/item/14788/92.jpg
  10. http://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/4D.html
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220118.html
  12. https://youtu.be/YJu_aUHeVL4
  13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway
  14. https://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=42195
  15. https://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=42195
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220207.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  20. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  25. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220208
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220209.html
  27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  28. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  30. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  33. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  34. https://www.nasa.gov/
  35. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  36. http://www.mtu.edu/