Explanation:
Illuminated by an eerie greenish light, this
remarkable little planet is covered with ice and snow
and ringed by tall pine trees.
Of course,
this little planet is actually planet Earth,
and the surrounding stars are above
the horizon
near Östersund, Sweden.
The pale greenish illumination is from a curtain of
shimmering Aurora Borealis
also known as the Northern Lights.
The display was triggered when a giant solar
coronal mass ejection (CME) rocked
planet Earth's
magnetosphere on January 24th
and produced a strong geomagnetic storm.
Northern hemisphere skygazers will also recognize
the familiar orientation
of stars at the left, including the Pleiades and Hyades star clusters
and the stars of Orion.
Increasing solar activity has caused
recent auroral displays to be wide spread, including
Aurora Australis, the Southern
Lights, at high southern latitudes.
