Red Aurora over Italy
Image Credit & Copyright:
Giorgia Hofer
What was that red glow on the horizon last night?
Aurora.
Our
unusually active
Sun
produced a
surface explosion
a few days ago that sent out a burst of electrons, protons, and more massive charged nuclei.
This coronal mass ejection (CME) triggered
auroras
here on Earth that are being reported
unusually far south in Earth's
northern hemisphere.
For example, this was the first time that
the astrophotographer
captured aurora from her home country of
Italy.
Additionally, many images from these auroras appear quite
red in color.
In the featured image, the town of
Comelico Superiore
in the Italian Alps is visible in the foreground, with the
central band of our
Milky Way galaxy seen rising from the lower left.
What draws the eye the most, though, is the bright red
aurora on the far right.
The featured image is a composite with the foreground and
background images taken consecutively with the same camera and from the same location.