One might be convinced this scene presages the ghosts due on Halloween. But for Alaska resident Ulrike Haug, it's a fairly common site anytime the sky is dark.

That's the science. But it's the resulting natural art that is most wonderful.

"Some people see auroras in my images, others see more than that," Haug said in an e-mail interview. "As the aurora dances in the sky, resembling a graceful ballet, it takes on many forms and shapes. At times the aurora paints a fleeting glimpse of realistic or surrealistic figures in the sky. Paired with a vivid imagination the viewer sees more than the green lights, as in this case perhaps a dragonfly or alien winged insect. This fascinates and motivates me to capture the lights in their uniqueness. Each display is different and only the solar wind knows what will happen next."

While residents at mid-latitudes rarely glimpse the aurora, Haug said they are common in Fairbanks, where she lives -- even now that the Sun is more than a year past its most recent peak of activity in an 11-year cycle.

In fact, this weekend promises to be a good time for residents at lower latitudes to look for aurora, because at least two significant solar eruptions have unleashed major space storms expected to arrive Friday or Saturday. The intensity of solar activity affects the intensity of the aurora, as well as how far away from the poles they're visible. In extreme cases, folks see them from California and even Texas.

Image Credit and Copyright: Ulrike Haug