Eerie Aurora

This surreal image comes from an aurora on Halloween 2013. Photographer Ole C. Salomonsen captured it in Norway during one of the best auroral displays that year. The shimmering green and purple hues are the glow of oxygen and nitrogen in the upper atmosphere reacting to high-energy particles streaming in from the solar wind. These geomagnetic storms can disrupt GPS satellites, compromise radio communication, and even corrode pipelines, but they also create these stunning nighttime displays. (Image credit: O. Salomonsen; via APOD)