A band of light spreads above the Arctic peaks

 A band of light spreads above the Arctic peaks 

 Lapland, Finland

A surge of solar particles streamed into Earth’s upper atmosphere, colliding with oxygen and nitrogen high above the mountains. The result is this sweeping curtain of aurora borealis, where different gases glow in different colors .. green from oxygen lower down, reds from higher altitudes, and hints of blue and violet from nitrogen.

The river below mirrors the motion like liquid glass, turning the landscape into a ribbon of color flowing from sky to earth.

It looks unreal, but this is space weather in action ... energy from the Sun interacting with Earth’s atmosphere, lighting the polar night.