Goat Aurora Over Greenland

Sometimes it's hard to believe what you see in the sky. During the Shelios Expedition to Greenland
in late August, even veteran sky enthusiasts saw auroras so colorful, so fast changing, and so unusual
in form that they could remember nothing like it. As the ever changing auroras evolved, huge shapes
spread across the sky morphed from one familiar form into another, including what looked to be the head
of a goat (shown above), the head of an elephant, a strange green-tailed comet, and fingers on a celestial
hand. Even without the aurora, the sky would be notable for the arching band of our Milky Way Galaxy and
the interesting field of stars, nebulas, and galaxies. In contrast, in the foreground is a farm house in
Tasiusaq, Kujalleq. Greenland. The Shelios project exists not only to observe auroras but to motivate
students to consider a career in science.