Astronomy Picture of the Day - A Phoenix Aurora over Iceland

APOD.NASA.gov ^ | 3 Jan, 2021 | Image Credit & Copyright: Hallgrimur P. Helgason; Rollover Annotation: Judy Schmidt

[MtnClimber]

Explanation: All of the other aurora watchers had gone home. By 3:30 am in Iceland, on a quiet September night, much of that night's auroras had died down. Suddenly, unexpectedly, a new burst of particles streamed down from space, lighting up the Earth's atmosphere once again. This time, surprisingly, pareidoliacally, the night lit up with an amazing shape reminiscent of a giant phoenix. With camera equipment at the ready, two quick sky images were taken, followed immediately by a third of the land. The mountain in the background is Helgafell, while the small foreground river is called Kaldá, both located about 30 kilometers north of Iceland's capital Reykjavík. Seasoned skywatchers will note that just above the mountain, toward the left, is the constellation of Orion, while the Pleiades star cluster is also visible just above the frame center. The 2016 aurora, which lasted only a minute and was soon gone forever -- would possibly be dismissed as an fanciful fable -- were it not captured in the featured, digitally-composed, image mosaic.

[MtnClimber]

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For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then zoom by moving the magnifying glass over an area and then clicking. The side bars will move the zoomed area over the photograph.

[MtnClimber]

[MtnClimber]

Pinging the APOD list.

🪐 🌟 🌌

Hover the cursor over the image at the link for star constellations to be displayed.

[Olog-hai]

So the Science Ninja Team is real, eh?

[BipolarBob]

oh noes!!! It’s the Terrordactyl!

[ml/nj]

Is this real? I thought auroras occurred in the Northern Sky, not near the ecliptic.

ML/NJ

[upchuck]

God is so wonderfully clever.

[piasa]

Iceland is pretty far north.

[BenLurkin]

The Vikings would have flipped out!

[ml/nj]

Iceland is pretty far north.

I know where Iceland is. But I also know the Northern Sky, and that's where Auroras appear.

ML/NJ

[progunner]

Look !!!! Up in the sky !!!! It’s a bird,,,, it’s a plane,,,, it’s a ,,,, darn,,,, just another aurora

[Jamestown1630]

That’s kind of amazing.

I recall seeing a photo of a ‘murmuration’ of Starlings that was shaped like a bird in the sky.

I don’t think there’s anything ‘chance’ about anything in Nature...

http://www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-galleries/2018/professional/shortlisted/natural-world/very

[BradyLS]

“Transmute!”

[BradyLS]

Well done! Ya beat me to it!

[BradyLS]

Massive magnetic solar flares generated by the sun can cause auroras to appear in the tropics, though they are exceedingly rare. I’ve yet to see an aurora in the sky.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

a Phung Hua - Vietnamese (or close to it) for Phoenix Bird.

What a sight.

[Olog-hai]

Yes, the “Fiery Phoenix” in the version you mention, or “Kagaku Ninpo Hinotori” in the original.

[poconopundit]

Question: what does the statement “digitally-composed, image mosaic” mean?

Does this mean it is a merged image from multiple photographs taken one after another?

Cheers.

[MtnClimber]

Wow! That was an incredible series of photos of the starlings!

[Red Badger]

Phoenix .............. are we sure it’s not Tucson?...................