This image captures a vivid green auroral arc stretching high above the city of Poznań in west central Poland. The glow is produced when energetic particles from the solar wind are guided by Earth’s magnetic field into the upper atmosphere, where they collide with oxygen atoms roughly 100 to 200 kilometers above the ground. These interactions excite the oxygen, which then emits its characteristic green light as it returns to a lower energy state.

Seen from an urban setting, the aurora highlights the scale and reach of geomagnetic activity during periods of enhanced solar activity. City lights illuminate the landscape below, providing a stark contrast to the delicate, flowing structure of the auroral arc overhead. The scene emphasizes how space weather driven by the Sun can briefly transform familiar city skies into displays typically associated with much higher latitudes.