A Rorschach Aurora
Image Credit &
Copyright:
Göran Strand
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.