The Aurora Tree

Sunday, March 8, 2026 All day

Yes, but can your tree do this? Pictured is a visual coincidence between the dark branches of a nearby tree and bright glow of a distant aurora. The beauty of the aurora — combined with how it seemed to mimic a tree right nearby — mesmerized the photographer to such a degree that he momentarily forgot to take pictures. When viewed at the right angle , it seemed that this tree had aurora for leaves. Fortunately, before the aurora morphed into a different overall shape , he came to his senses and captured the awe-inspiring momentary coincidence . Typically triggered by solar explosions , aurora are caused by high energy electrons impacting the Earth’s atmosphere around 150 kilometers up. The unusual Earth-sky collaboration was witnessed in March of 2017 in Iceland . Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (after 1995) Image Credit & Copyright: Alyn Wallace https://science.nasa.gov/image-article/apod-2026-march-8-the-aurora-tree/

The Aurora Tree