Ukrainian polar explorers captured the aurora and neighboring galaxies in a single photo

Ukrainian scientists at the “Academician Vernadsky” Antarctic station captured a rare red aurora alongside two neighboring galaxies—the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. The photos were taken by polar explorer Serhiy Yakushchenko on Galindez Island in West Antarctica.

According to the researchers, the red aurora occurs in the upper layers of Earth’s atmosphere at an altitude of over 200 kilometers when charged particles from the solar wind interact with atomic oxygen. Meanwhile, the Magellanic Clouds captured in the photograph are dwarf galaxies that are satellites of the Milky Way, located at distances of approximately 160,000 and 200,000 light-years from Earth.

The uniqueness of the image lies in the simultaneous capture of an atmospheric phenomenon occurring hundreds of kilometers above the planet’s surface and cosmic objects whose light traveled to the camera lens for hundreds of thousands of years.

Source: NASC and Universe Space Tech.

As a reminder, a protected area has been established in Antarctica near the Akademik Vernadsky Station.

Recruitment has begun in Ukraine for a new Antarctic expedition to the Akademik Vernadsky Station.