Double-posting today, too awesome not to pass on: last night, what you see above appeared over the skies of Norway. This is not an aurora, and NOT Photoshop, as there are many witnesses, videos and photos. Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy has the explanation (most likely, a rocket/missile gone awry; if you’re not convinced, watch the video at the bottom), Gizmodo has collected the pictures and a video, and The Daily Mail has eyewitness interviews and more videos (and photos with credit, which I borrowed.) I learned about this initially from Space Weather, and despite it likely being a man-made phenomenon, it’s still quite a sight to behold!
Spiral light over Norway. Photo by Jan Petter Jørgensen
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Danielle,
I just read that it was in fact a failed Russian missile:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091210/sc_afp/russianorwaymilitarymissile