explanation
What's happening above that city? The city is Winnipeg [ http://www.city.winnipeg.mb.ca/ ], Canada [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ca.html ], and the phenomenon is aurora [ http://www.pfrr.alaska.edu/~ddr/ASGP/STRSCOOP/AURORA/SUMMARY.HTM ]. These past few months have been active ones for our Sun [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010924.html ], producing several coronal mass ejections [ http://science.msfc.nasa.gov/ssl/pad/solar/cmes.htm ] (CMEs) of particles [ http://www-istp.gsfc.nasa.gov/Education/wposion.html ] that have swept past our Earth [ http://www.nineplanets.org/earth.html ] and caused many spectacular auroras [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search?aurora ]. Specifically in this case, a CME that occurred on October 9 impacted the Earth on October 11 and 12, causing nearly 12 hours of auroras [ http://www.spaceweather.com/aurora/gallery_12oct01.html ]. The above-pictured aurora [ http://www.spaceweather.com/aurora/gallery_12oct01.html ] had to be very bright to be seen over the lights of Winnipeg, the city well below and in front of the cascading atmospheric airglow [ http://www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/ ]. Lights reflecting off of a slight haze [ http://www.concord.org/haze/causes.html ] cause an unrelated glow that emanates from some of the buildings.
Explanation
false