Tsunami lit up the heavens

Camera captures quake-triggered atmospheric ripples over Hawaii

Japan’s recent monster earthquake did more than jolt the island nation and send a tsunami racing across the Pacific Ocean. Hundreds of kilometers overhead, that tsunami also lit up the atmosphere in celestial glowing ripples.

DOING THE WAVE In this image taken by a camera in Hawaii, large-scale, glowing atmospheric ripples wash over the Hawaiian Islands (outlined in blue) following the March 11 Japan earthquake and tsunami.