A 180° panorama of the Northern Lights exhibiting classic concentric ars across the north, with an isolated arc to the east at f
A 180° panorama of the Northern Lights exhibiting classic concentric ars across the north, with an isolated arc to the east at far right. It extended up across the sky overhead and had a faint arc to the west as well, not seen here. This shows how a typical aurora display is made of nested arcs created by incoming electrons raining down the magnetic field lines in concentric arcs. Often, an isolated arc far to the south of the main group forms, and often appears red, though can have normal green components as well, as here. Is this a “proton arc?” It would seem this is a normal electron-induced aurora but clearly with a slightly different origin in the source region for the electrons. The most northerly and distant curtains exhibit a slight tint of pink on the lower fringes, from nitrogen glowing. This was the night of September 2, 2016, from near home in southern Alberta. The Big Dipper is at upper left. The bright star reflected is Capella. Perseus and Andromeda are right of centre. This is a stitch of 10 segments, each 2-second exposures with the 20mm Sigma Art lens at and Nikon D750 at ISO 3200. Stitched with PTGui.
Size: 5400px × 1521px
Location: Alberta, Canada
Photo credit: © Alan Dyer / VWPics / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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