April Gallery

Doubtful Sound, Fiordland NP, New Zealand at SW tip of South Island

© Miller, Steven David / Animals Animals/Earth Scenes

Aa Photographer, Cloud, Doubtful Sound, Eerie, Environment, Environmental, Fiord, Fiordland National Park, Fiordland Np, Fjord, Fjordland National Park, Fjordland Np, Landscape, Mountain Side, National Park, National Parks, Natural, Nature, New Zealand, Np, Oceania, Ominous, Pacific Rim, Quality, Scen Ic, Skies, Sky, South Island, Steven David Miller, Thp, Unesco, Water, World Heritage Site, World Nature Heritage, World Nature Heritage Site

24 Apr 1999

© 2004 TopFoto

Craft, Glasses, Rural Workmanship, Sport, Stitches The Leather, Used In Kent A Chronicle Of The Century 1950 70, Workshop, Yesterday 259

Aurora borealis or northern lights and Ursa Major

Aurora Borealis. Green, yellow and red Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights display over clouds and trees. The plough in the constellation of Ursa Major is prominent at upper left. Aurorae are caused by the interaction between energetic charged particles from the Sun and gas molecules in the upper atmosphere about 100 kilometres up. A stream of charged particles, called the solar wind, flows out into space continuously from the Sun at speeds of 400-500 kilometres per second. On reaching Earth, the charged particles are drawn by Earth's magnetic field to the poles, where they collide with gas molecules in the upper atmosphere, causing them to emit light

© PEKKA PARVIAINEN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY