Aurora, Comet, and Galaxy

An arc of aurora spanning over 120 degrees from northwest to northeast appears over landscape of Saariselkä in Lapland, at 69 degrees north in Finland. In the middle of the arc two diffuse celestial objects appear close together, one in our planetary neighborhood in the Solar System and another a major galaxy in our cosmic neighborhood: Comet PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) appears with the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Explained by the photographer: “The panoramic image is obtained from the top of the hill of the longest toboggan sled in the world. At this far north latitude the comet and the galaxy were circumpolar objects and visible all night. But the darkness was already gone at this time of year because the sun does not sink enough below the horizon and there is a long dark twilight.”