48.6

The starry northern sky, enchanted by colorful curtains of the Northern light, sparkles above Peyto Lake in the Canadian Rockies. The diffuse ethereal glow of the green and pink aurora borealis spread out along the northern and northeastern horizon during the night of the new moon. This phenomenon is caused by particles flung out by the sun at enormous speed. Guided by Earth’s magnetic field towards the poles they collide with atoms in the thin atmosphere at 100 to 300 km height. Within this ionosphere the absorbed energy is emitted as visible light. The green and red colors are emitted when the suns particles collide with atomic oxygen in the atmosphere. Purple colors result from collisions with molecular nitrogen. Ursa Major, the Big Dipper is visible just atop the pink northern light and the Corona Borealis, the northern crown to its left. Peyto Lake is located in the glacial valley below Bow Pass. The lake is fed by meltwater of the Peyto glacier. The stream carries vast amounts of sediments and rock flour into the lake. The latter causes the lakes beautiful and famous bluegreen waters, even visible at night.

August 2009
Canon 5D MkII, Canon L 16-35mm, f/2.8, 6 min static and dynamic images, ISO 1600, tripod, AstroTrac TT320 astronomical mount

More information:

www.lichtjahre.eu
Where Geoscience Meets Art

All images on this website are part
of my new coffee table took.