Credit & Copyright: Göran Strand
Explanation:
If you see this as a monster's face, don't panic.
It's only
pareidolia,
often experienced as the tendency to see faces in
patterns of light and shadow.
In fact, the startling visual scene is actually a 180 degree panorama of
Northern
Lights,
digitally mirrored like inkblots on a folded piece of paper.
Frames used to construct it were captured on
a September night from the
middle of a waterfall-crossing suspension bridge
in Jamtland, Sweden.
With geomagnetic storms triggered by
recent
solar activity,
auroral displays could be very active at
planet Earth's high latitudes in the coming days.
But if you see a monster's face in
your own
neighborhood
tomorrow night, it might just be Halloween.
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|
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: aurora
Publications with words: aurora
See also:
- APOD: 2024 June 26 Á Timelapse: Aurora, SAR, and the Milky Way
- APOD: 2024 June 12 Á Aurora over Karkonosze Mountains
- APOD: 2024 May 20 Á Aurora Dome Sky
- Aurora Banks Peninsula
- APOD: 2024 January 14 Á Dragon Aurora over Iceland
- APOD: 2024 January 3 Á A SAR Arc from New Zealand
- APOD: 2023 December 12 Á Aurora and Milky Way over Norway