Starship Asterisk*

Ooooh, you make your own music, too? Thanks, Sebastian. That was really enjoyable. :)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h8xHOaZCZA[/youtube]

Many thanks for your kind comments!

Best wishes,
Sebastian

It's like the colours in light are tumbling down. It's an amazing scene (which was taken on November 28 2011 according to Sebastian's website). I do though prefer the non-compressed version that is brought up when clicking on the image. :D

This picture is a surrealist image.

Looks like some Mercator map of the Earth

I'm curious about the "can range up to 1000 kilometers" statement. That's essentially the top of the Thermosphere and about 3 times the altitude of the ISS. The number of "molecules in the Earth's atmosphere" up there is pretty small so I'd guess an aurora would be very hard to see. Has anyone actually photographed aurora behavior that high, e.g., looking up from the ISS? I'd guess it would look quite different than the spectacular display photographed over Norway.

Wow !!!
I wonder how it will be to see that in real time...

Amazing picture
Sergio

[quote="Sam"]Have auroras bright enough to be seen in the daytime ever been reported or recorded?[/quote]
I've seen anecdotal reports, but I'm skeptical. "Daytime" does not need to mean "daylight", however. There is such a thing as a "daytime aurora", which occurs near the poles in the direction of the Sun, but when the Sun is below the horizon (normally, auroras are opposite the Sun).

Daylight auroras can sometimes be imaged with ordinary cameras and simple filters, and are regularly observed instrumentally by their effect on radio, radar, and with UV imaging.

[quote="zbvhs"]Think of those vertical displays as thousands - maybe millions - of tons of "stuff" falling on us. You have to appreciate the value of the little thin skin of air this planet has. If it goes bad, we're done for.[/quote]
If we lose our atmosphere, I think unblocked charged particles from the Sun will be the least of our problems! <g>

Think of those vertical displays as thousands - maybe millions - of tons of "stuff" falling on us. You have to appreciate the value of the little thin skin of air this planet has. If it goes bad, we're done for.

I'll bet that was spooky back in the olden days when they thought God was coming down on them. :wink:

Clicking on the link for the uncompressed version of this image, it really is an [i]awe[/i]-rora! 8-)

what an interesting view! 8-) :clap: :clap:

Have auroras bright enough to be seen in the daytime ever been reported or recorded?

WOW! What a Giant Niagara Falls!! And more colorful too. If one was to go over it in a barrel, the only rock one would hit, is the 3rd rock from the sun. :mrgreen:

[url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120103.html][img]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_120103.jpg[/img] [size=150]A Full Sky Aurora Over Norway[/size][/url]

[b] Explanation: [/b] Higher than the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Khalifa]highest building[/url], higher than the [url=http://www.scaruffi.com/travel/tallest.html]highest mountain[/url], higher than the [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110724.html]highest airplane[/url], lies the realm of the aurora. [url=http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/auroras/happen.html]Auroras[/url] rarely reach below 60 kilometers, and can range up to 1000 kilometers. Aurora light results from energetic [url=http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/whelect.html]electrons[/url] and [url=http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/particles/proton.html]protons[/url] striking [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecule]molecules[/url] in the [url=http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/earth/atmosphere.html]Earth's atmosphere[/url]. Frequently, when viewed from space, a [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap970402.html]complete aurora[/url] will appear as a circle around one of the Earth's [url=http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/29dec_magneticfield.htm]magnetic poles[/url]. The above wide angle image, horizontally compressed, captured an [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap111205.html]unexpected auroral display[/url] that stretched across the sky one month ago over eastern [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway]Norway[/url].

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