Photo: T. Pesquet/ESA/NASA
These amazing images of the Aurora were captured by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station and have gone viral after being shared online.
Thomas Pesquet, of the European Space Agency, captured the images while he was 250 miles above the surface of the Earth which show huge green flares across the Earth's atmosphere. They are among the clearest images ever taken from the International Space Station.
Pesquet said on twitter:
"Another aurora but this one is special as it is so bright. It is the full moon lighting up the shadow side of Earth almost like daylight."
Another #aurora but this one is special as it is so bright. It is the full Moon 🌕 lighting up the shadow side of Earth 🌎 almost like daylight. 🌞 #MissionAlpha https://t.co/vhJVPNqE1D pic.twitter.com/bcx6NNZsrj
— Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) September 24, 2021
NASA explains online how auroras are created:
"[Auroras] are caused by collisions between fast-moving particles (electrons) from space and the oxygen and nitrogen gas in our atmosphere. These electrons originate in the magnetosphere, the region of space controlled by Earth's magnetic field. As they rain into the atmosphere, the electrons impart energy to oxygen and nitrogen molecules, making them excited. When the molecules return to their normal state, they release photons, small bursts of energy in the form of light."
Adding:
"When billions of these collisions occur and enough photons are released, the oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere emit enough light for the eye to detect them. This ghostly glow can light up the night sky in a dance of colours. But since the aurora is much dimmer than sunlight, it cannot be seen from the ground in the daytime."
The phenomenon most often appear at the polar caps at the very top and very bottom of the Earth.
One of Pesquet's colleagues told reporters:
"I wasn't surprised by the auroras, but I was kind of bowled over by how breathtaking they really were, and how mesmerizing it was to see it with my own eyes."
Astronauts aboard the world's first-ever civilian spaceflight, Inspiration4, which was run by SpaceX, were also able to see the amazing auroras while they were on their 4-day mission to space.
[h/t: science alert]
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