Meteor Through Aurora

A bright meteor streaks in aurora-filled sky of Yellowknife in northern Canada. Note the stars of Ursa Major (Big Bear) in the middle of the image. Aurora is produced by the collision of charged particles from Earth’s magnetosphere, mostly electrons but also protons and heavier particles, with atoms and molecules of Earth’s atmosphere (at altitudes above 80 km). The particles originate from the Sun and reach the Earth in the stream of solar wind.