# @nasaartemis on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/8jRMTBGh9b
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/15347439-nasaartemis-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/0646dc934b.jpg
- **Posted:** 2015-10-07T21:14:19.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** NASA Artemis (@nasaartemis) — https://gondola.cc/nasaartemis

## Caption

It’s world space week! Let’s get busy by looking at visions of #space dancing on Earth. Thanks to a lucky conjunction of two satellites, a ground-based array of all-sky cameras, and some spectacular aurora borealis, researchers have uncovered evidence for an unexpected role that electrons have in creating pulsating auroras. Though humans have been seeing auroras for thousands of years, we have only recently begun to understand what causes them.

Pulsating auroras are so-called because their features shift and brighten in distinct patches, rather than elongated arcs across the sky like active auroras. However, their appearance isn’t the only difference. Though all #auroras are caused by energetic particles—typically electrons—speeding down into Earth’s atmosphere and colliding brilliantly with the atoms and molecules in the air, the source of these electrons is different for pulsating auroras and active auroras.

This image of a colorful aurora was taken in Delta Junction, #Alaska, on April 10, 2015. All auroras are created by energetic electrons, which rain down from Earth’s magnetic bubble and interact with particles in the upper atmosphere to create glowing lights that stretch across the sky.

Credit: Image courtesy of Sebastian Saarloos

#northernlights #worldspaceweek #wsw2015 #skylights #astrophotography

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 5,692
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## Tags

skylights, astrophotography, auroras, northernlights, alaska, space, worldspaceweek, wsw2015

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