Embargoed until 00.01 BST on 20.9.12. The Royal Observatory’s 2012 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition – Runner-up in the Earth and Space category. (An exhibition of all the winning images opens at the Royal Observatory on 20 September.) Image: The aurora borealis traces the shifting patterns of the Earthâs magnetic field, creating a spectacular midwinter show in Nordland Fylke,Norway. The green light in this image comes from oxygen atoms high in the atmosphere, which have been energised by subatomic particles from the Solar Wind.
