Science is AWESOME!

B00Mer

Keep Calm and Carry On
Sep 6, 2008
44,800
7,297
113
Rent Free in Your Head
www.getafteritmedia.com
An astronaut on board the International Space Station has photographed a rare sight: the aurora australis (southern lights) as seen from space.

This image of the southern lights was captured aboard the International Space Station (ISS) at an altitude of 217 miles. Aurorae usually appear slightly lower--some 50 - 100 miles above the surface of the Earth.

While the phenomenon is usually visible closer to the North and South Poles, geomagnetic storms can push the auroras closer to the equator. NASA believes this particular storm to have been caused by a coronal mass ejection from the Sun on May 24.

In the image below, the mostly-green aurora is visible above a thick cloud cover. The bent blue band is the horizon of Earth's upper atmosphere.



The image below, which shows the aurora australis from the ground, was taken in 2005 at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.



source: Aurora Australis PHOTO: Southern Lights Seen From Space
 

Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
44,850
192
63
Nakusp, BC
In Whitehorse one time, it seemed they were so low that you could touch the aurora borialis, you could hear them buzzing and they were several colours.