Let your light shine. 💅
A brilliant stream of the southern lights or aurora australis is captured in this photograph from the International Space Station (@ISS) as it orbited 270 miles (434 km) above the Indian Ocean near Antarctica.
The vibrant displays of light around Earth’s North and South Poles are caused by the interaction of solar particles, ejected by the Sun, and our planet’s protective magnetic field. Most of the time these interactions are relatively limited and go unnoticed by us on Earth. However, during large solar storms, called coronal mass ejections, the Sun spews large bubbles of electrified gas which collide with our magnetic field at its North and South Poles and enter our atmosphere.
Once in the atmosphere, these energized solar particles collide with atmospheric gases resulting in beautiful displays of light. When solar particles collide with atmospheric oxygen they give off rich red and green hues as seen in this image. Conversely, if these same particles collide with nitrogen in our atmosphere they illuminate the sky in glows of blue and purple.
Earth isn’t the only planet to have auroras. If a planet has an atmosphere and magnetic field, they likely have auroras—as is the case with our solar system neighbor Jupiter, which showed off its beautiful auroras in our last post.
Image Description: A rich stream of the aurora australis or southern lights. The curved horizon of Earth dominates the lower half of the image. Following the curve of the horizon beautiful wisps of green light float above the planet’s surface. Near the upper extremes of the horizon, near where it meets with space, long tall spikes of green light radiate towards the upper half of the image. As the long tall spikes of light reach higher they transition into hues of red. In the upper half of the image, the dark blackness of space dominates, disrupted by the bright white sprinkles of stars visible in the distance. To the far right, the International Space Station covers a section of the image.
Credit: NASA/Bob Hines
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