Christmas tree aurora./Courtesy of Jingyi Zhang

This is a photo of an aurora taken in December 2023 in Djúpivogur, Iceland. It resembles the shape of a Christmas tree. The green, blue, and purple auroras are caused by electronic explosion reactions involving oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere. The sun is currently in the most energetic phase of its 11-year cycle. With a high number of active regions and sunspots, it is likely to continue until next year. Throughout this year, the sun has been near its solar maximum, and due to explosions, the Earth's auroras have occasionally reached a spectacular "Minister".