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This page describes an image Multicolored aurora in Iceland, by Marco Migliardi on behalf of Associazione Astronomica Cortina, Italy

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Caption: First place in the 2021 IAU OAE Astrophotography Contest, category Aurorae (still images)

Aurorae are the result of ionisation and excitation processes in Earth's upper atmosphere, caused by charged particles from the solar wind or from coronal mass ejections. The different colours in an aurora display indicate the species of atmospheric atoms and molecules involved. The most common colour is a bright green, which, together with deep red, originates from atomic oxygen. Blue, purple and pink hues are much rarer and originate from molecular nitrogen. The reflection of the aurora in the water indicates the brightness of intense aurorae at higher latitudes.

Captions in other languages

Credit: Marco Migliardi on behalf of Associazione Astronomica Cortina/IAU OAE.
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5273473
Related glossary terms: Aurora , Aurora Borealis
Categories: Naked Eye Astronomy

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons

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Captions in Different Languages:

Italian
Caption: Primo posto al concorso di astrofotografia IAU OAE 2021, categoria Aurorae (immagini fisse)

Le aurore sono il risultato di processi di ionizzazione ed eccitazione nell'alta atmosfera terrestre, causati da particelle cariche provenienti dal vento solare o da espulsioni di massa coronale. I diversi colori di un'aurora indicano le specie di atomi e molecole atmosferiche coinvolte. Il colore più comune è il verde brillante che, insieme al rosso intenso, deriva dall'ossigeno atomico. Le tonalità blu, viola e rosa sono molto più rare e provengono dall'azoto molecolare. Il riflesso dell'aurora nell'acqua indica la luminosità delle aurore intense alle latitudini più elevate.
Credit: Marco Migliardi on behalf of Associazione Astronomica Cortina/IAU OAE.
Related glossary terms: Aurora , Aurora Boreale
Caption translation status: Approved by a reviewer
Caption translators: Giuliana Giobbi, Valentina La Parola
Caption reviewers: Rosa Valiante, Rodolfo Canestrari