Sometimes a river of hot gas flows over your head. In this case the river created a Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement ( STEVE ) that glowed bright red, white, and pink. Details of how STEVEs work remain a topic of research, but recent evidence holds that their glow results from a fast-moving river of hot ions flowing over a hundred kilometers up in the Earth's atmosphere : the ionosphere . The more expansive dull red glow might be related to the flowing STEVE , but alternatively might be a Stable Auroral Red (SAR) arc, a more general heat-related glow. The featured picture , taken earlier this month in Côte d'Opale , France , is a wide-angle digital composite made as the STEVE arc formed nearly overhead. Although the apparition lasted only a few minutes, this was long enough for the quick-thinking astrophotographer to get in the picture -- can you find him?
Media Credits & Attribution
Credit & Copyright: Louis LEROUX-GÉRÉ