                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    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.

                              2026 February 10
     A person with the arms raised stands atop of a rock peak covered in
       snow. Snow covered mountains are all around. Green aurora swirl
   overhead and reflect off the snow. Please see the explanation for more
                            detailed information.

                    In Green Company: Aurora over Norway
                     Image Credit & Copyright: Max Rive

   Explanation: Raise your arms if you see an aurora. With those
   instructions, two nights went by with, well, clouds -- mostly. On the
   third night of returning to same peaks, though, the sky not only
   cleared up but lit up with a spectacular auroral display. Arms went
   high in the air, patience and experience paid off, and the creative
   featured image was captured as a composite from three separate
   exposures. The setting is a summit of the Austnesfjorden (a fjord)
   close to the town of Svolvear on the Lofoten islands in northern
   Norway. The year was 2014. This year, our Sun is just passing solar
   maximum, the peak in its 11-year surface activity cycle. As expected,
   some spectacular auroras have recently resulted.

                   Portal Universe: Random APOD Generator
                       Tomorrow's picture: sun spotted
     __________________________________________________________________

       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
                  NASA Web Privacy, Accessibility, Notices;
                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

