Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2022 March 22
     [2]The featured image depicts a bright aurora captured earlier this
   month over Östersund, Sweden. To some, this coronal aurora may resemble
     a whale. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                  A Whale of an Aurora over Swedish Forest
                 Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Göran Strand

   Explanation: What's that in the sky? An aurora. A large [4]coronal mass
   ejection occurred on our Sun earlier this month, [5]throwing a cloud of
   fast-moving electrons, protons, and ions [6]toward the Earth. Part of
   this cloud impacted our Earth's [7]magnetosphere and, bolstered by a
   sudden gap, resulted in [8]spectacular auroras being seen at some high
   northern latitudes. [9]Featured here is a particularly photogenic
   [10]auroral corona captured above a forest in [11]Sweden from a scenic
   perch overlooking the city of [12]Östersund. To some, [13]this
   shimmering green [14]glow of recombining atmospheric [15]oxygen might
   appear like a large [16]whale, but feel free to [17]share what it looks
   like to you. The unusually [18]quiet [19]Sun of the past few years has
   now passed. As our Sun now approaches a [20]solar maximum in its
   [21]11-year solar magnetic cycle, [22]dramatic auroras like [23]this
   are sure to continue.

    Open Science: [24]Browse 2,700+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code
                                   Library
                       Tomorrow's picture: big bubble
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    Authors & editors: [36]Robert Nemiroff ([37]MTU) & [38]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([39]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [40]Specific rights apply.
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                A service of: [42]ASD at [43]NASA / [44]GSFC
                           & [45]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2203/WhaleAurora_Strand_1500.jpg
   3. https://astrofotografen.se/
   4. https://solarscience.msfc.nasa.gov/CMEs.shtml
   5. https://twitter.com/erikapal/status/1502105107743133698
   6. https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3902
   7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetosphere
   8. https://spaceweathergallery.com/aurora_gallery.html
   9. https://www.instagram.com/p/CbH_N6KtwL_/
  10. https://aurora.live/2020/04/aurora-coronas/
  11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden
  12. https://youtu.be/AgFc6_48dV4
  13. https://youtu.be/PVLr0Gndyeg
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110328.html
  15. http://periodic.lanl.gov/8.shtml
  16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale
  17. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220322
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191202.html
  19. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/sun/in-depth/
  20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_maximum
  21. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/solar-cycles/en/
  22. https://allthingslearning.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/dogs_surprised.jpg
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190218.html
  24. https://ascl.net/code/all
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220321.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  34. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220322
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220323.html
  36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  37. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  38. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  39. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  42. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  45. http://www.mtu.edu/