First aurora of the season

089/366

Last night we've had the first aurora of the season. Auroras occur predominantly in the polar latitudes and are created when the upper atmosphere is energised from the magnetosphere as the result of the solar wind. The energy which is lost when protons and electrons precipitate into the atmosphere, causing the ionised particles to emit light forming patterns of various complexity and colour. In the picture the Nansen Sledge lit up by the bright moon light, with aurora in the sky above.