Now this is an aurora!

[pokerfan]

A Memorable Aurora Over Norway


Image Credit & Copyright: Ole Christian Salomonsen

Explanation: It was one of the most memorable auroras of the season. There was green light, red light, and sometimes a mixture of the two. There were multiple rays, distinct curtains, and even an auroral corona. It took up so much of the sky. In the background were stars too numerous to count, in the foreground a friend trying to image the same sight. The scene was captured with a fisheye lens around and above Tromsø, Norway, last month. With the Sun becoming more active, next year might bring even more spectacular aurora.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111205.html

[A-Schwarzenegger]

1. Powwonderful!

But isn't that guy looking the wrong way?

[WillParkinson]

2. No...

It's the end of the world and he's trying to escape. :)

[pokerfan]

5. His head's glowing

Is he a Time Lord?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. WOW!

I've never seen one...

I REALLY want to.

[rurallib]

4. Go north, young Peggy

I have seen 6 o7 in my life here in Iowa.
They are awe-inspiring, and twilight-zony.

[elocs]

13. I've lived over 50 years in Wisconsin, which is north of Iowa, and I've never seen one either. n/t

[pokerfan]

8. I see them without even trying

Sometimes they even interfere with my stargazing and other nocturnal activities.

[applegrove]

14. I live in Ottawa, Ontario and I've only ever seen one.

[DesertRat]

6. Amazing!

[hedgehog]

7. This may be a stupid question, but do auroras make any noise?

[pokerfan]

10. not a stupid question at all

It's actually subject to much debate:

www.auroraborealisyukon.com/faq
www.pfrr.alaska.edu/aurora/faq.htm#sound
www.welcometoalaska.com/aurora.htm#hear
www.nanogallery.info/news/?id=8685&slid=news&type=anews

All I can say is I've never heard any noise that I could associate with the aurora.

[hedgehog]

11. Thanks! I couldn't figure a mechanism for auroras to make a noise,

but I've seen a lot of video footage with an accompanying sound track so I was curious. The explanations would seem to indicate that the fluctuating magnetic field triggers nerve impulses in the brain giving the illusion of sound. That's wild!

[pokerfan]

12. They are definitely strange

All I know is that it never fails to make the hair on the back of neck stand erect. I think it triggers some kind of primeval emotional response.

[Rainbowreflect]

9. Wow, beautiful!