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

Image license: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) icons

The media file captions presented on the OAE website were written, translated and reviewed by a collective effort from the OAE, the OAE Centers and Nodes, the OAE National Astronomy Education Coordinators (NAECs) and other volunteers. You can find a full list of credits for our translation project here. All media file captions are released under a Creative Commons CC BY-4.0 license and should be credited to "IAU OAE". The media files themselves may have different licenses (see above) and should be credited as listed above under "credit".

Captions in Different Languages:

French
Image caption: Première place au concours d'astrophotographie 2021 de l'IAU OAE, catégorie Aurores (images fixes)

Les aurores sont le résultat de processus d'ionisation et d'excitation dans la haute atmosphère terrestre, causés par des particules chargées provenant du vent solaire ou d'éjections de masse coronale. Les différentes couleurs d'une aurore indiquent les espèces d'atomes et de molécules atmosphériques impliquées. La couleur la plus courante est le vert vif, qui, avec le rouge profond, provient de l'oxygène atomique. Les teintes bleues, violettes et roses sont beaucoup plus rares et proviennent de l'azote moléculaire. La réflexion de l'aurore dans l'eau indique la luminosité des aurores intenses à des latitudes plus élevées.
Image credit: Marco Migliardi au nom de l'Associazione Astronomica Cortina/IAU OAE.
Related glossary terms: Aurore , Aurore boréale , Ionisation , Tempête géomagnétique
Caption translation status: Not yet approved by a reviewer
Caption translators: Emmanuel Rollinde

Italian
Image 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.
Image credit: Marco Migliardi on behalf of Associazione Astronomica Cortina/IAU OAE.
Related glossary terms: Aurora , Aurora Boreale , Ionizzazione , Tempesta Geomagnetica
Caption translation status: Approved by a reviewer
Caption translators: Giuliana Giobbi, Valentina La Parola
Caption reviewers: Rosa Valiante, Rodolfo Canestrari