In today's image, we see an example of ELVES lighting. This is an upper atmospheric lightning which may occur when electrons from a discharge lower in the atmosphere are funneled up to the ionosphere and excite the nitrogen molecules there.

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This Podcast is an authorized New Media Mirror Site for APOD. You can access the image and website directly at: Astronomy Picture of the Day. You can use the archive link below the image to select the photo corresponding to the date of this podcast.

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