APOD 2.6: Aurora Shimmer and a Meteor Flash

           Northern lights, or aurora borealis, shimmered in the skies over the island of Kvaløya, near Tromsø Norway on  December 13, 2009. The picture also captures the flash of a fireball meteor from the Geminid Meteor Shower in December 2009, streaking past the handle of the big dipper. At the end of this week, the Geminid meteor shower will continue but be disrupted by the last quarter moon.