APOD: 2026 October 31 – Night on a Spooky Planet
APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 31 –… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. Night on a Spooky Planet Explanation: What spooky planet is this? Planet Earth on a dark and stormy night, of course. The ghostly scene was photographed at Hverir , a geothermally active area found along northeastern Iceland’s volcanic landscape . Triggered by solar activity , geomagnetic storms have unleashed energetic particles trapped in Earth’s magnetic field. Penetrating the planet’s upper atmosphere at high latitudes, the particles create auroral displays in the starry night sky. Ghostly towers of steam and gas are venting from local fumaroles to dance against the eerie, greenish...
