Aurora borealis seen over trees through a fish-eye lens. This coloured light display (the northern lights) is visible in the night sky at high latitud

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Aurora borealis seen over trees through a fish-eye lens. This coloured light display (the northern lights) is visible in the night sky at high latitudes. It occurs when charged and energetic particles from the Sun (the solar wind) are drawn by Earth's magnetic field to the polar regions. Hundreds of kilometres up, they collide with gas molecules and atoms, causing them to emit light. Photographed near Churchill, Canada in 2002.

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Size: 2656px × 4103px
Photo credit: © CHRIS MADELEY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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