Looking up at the flickering glow of the Northern Lights is one of Earth’s most incredible experiences.
But now, a NASA astronaut has revealed what it is like to look down on one of the planet’s great natural wonders.
Astronaut Don Pettit has shared his bird’s eye view of the Northern Lights from the window of the International Space Station.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Pettit said simply: ‘Flying over aurora; intensely green.’
In this mesmerising video, you can see the lower structures of the space station silhouetted against the bright green glow of the aurora.
With the Northern Lights forming between 60 to 186 miles (100 to 300 km) above the ground, the ISS soars above at almost four times this altitude.
On social media, space fans have been blown away to discover that astronauts have this unique perspective.
One amazed commenter wrote: ‘Wait wait… auroras are that low?!’
A NASA astronaut has shared his stunning bird’s-eye view of the Northern Lights from aboard the International Space Station
On social media, commenters were shocked to learn that astronauts have this unique perspective on one of Earth’s natural wonders
Don Pettit, 69, is NASA’s oldest astronaut and a member of NASA’s Expedition 72 crew which also includes the stranded astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore.
Currently undertaking his third stay aboard the station, Mr Pettit is well known for his orbital photography.
Over more than 300 days in space, Mr Pettit has become regarded as one of NASA’s best photographers and has captured many stunning images of the Earth and the Northern Lights.
The Northern and Southern lights are caused when charged particles from the sun collide with Earth’s atmosphere.
As these particles arrive, they slam into particles of gas and charge them with enough energy to glow brightly.
These are visible from the ISS because the aurora actually forms in a relatively low part of the atmosphere.
The lowest glowing gases are typically found 80 miles (130 km) above the ground but can dip as low as 60 miles (100 km) in some cases.
Orbiting at 230 to 285 miles (370 to 460 km), the ISS safely passes over the top of the aurora, allowing astronauts on board to look down on the show.
Don Pettit (pictured) is NASA’s oldest serving astronaut and widely regarded as one of the space agency’s best photographers
Since the ISS orbits at an altitude of 230 to 285 miles (370 to 460 km), it can be almost four times higher than the lowest parts of the Northern Lights
However, in some of the strongest events, even the ISS can be caught up in the aurora with the uppermost parts of the display extending several thousand miles above the Earth.
In Mr Pettit’s video, the bright lights of a city appear beneath the intense green glow of excited gases
While hints of blue and pink are caused by nitrogen, this emerald green is the characteristic sign of oxygen molecules charged by particles from the sun.
On social media, commenters flocked to share their amazement with Mr Pettit’s stunning images.
One commenter wrote: ‘It’s like a massive emerald come alive!’
‘Not sure how I thought it would look from above but this is incredible,’ added another.
While one space fan wrote: ‘The amount of electrical flow is astounding.’
Normally, the aurora is only visible at very high latitudes – for example at the poles, Scandinavia or the southern tip of South America.
The ISS’ height allows the crew to capture stunning images of the Northern Lights as they pass overhead. Pictured: The aurora seen from the ISS in August, 2024
Commenters on social media were amazed by the view, saying they had no idea that the Northern Lights would look like this from above
One commenter said that the green of the aurora was ‘like a massive emerald come alive’
This is because the charged particles which make the atmosphere glow are funnelled towards the poles by the Earth’s magnetic fields.
However, when the sun undergoes an event called a ‘coronal mass ejection’ enormous clouds of charged particles are sent flying towards Earth at around two million miles per hour.
These clouds interact with the Earth’s magnetic fields to produce geomagnetic storms which trigger huge auroral displays stretching into the lower latitudes.
Luckily for Mr Pettit, the start of the year has seen a few exceptionally large coronal mass ejections which have made the aurora even brighter than normal.
On January 3 and January 4, the sun was lit up by two X-class solar flares – a class reserved for the most intense kind.
Solar flares are sudden explosions of radiation created by the ‘snapping’ of tangled magnetic fields in the sun’s atmosphere.
Since they are usually followed by coronal mass ejections, these two flares meant stunning auroral displays were soon to follow.
On the day that Mr Pettit posted his video, January 6, there had already been two days of geomagnetic storms according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Mr Pettit’s video came after a week of intense Northern Lights due to a series of large solar storms. On January 4, the Northern Lights were forecast to extend as far south as the northern United States
As clouds of charged particles arrived from the sun, they triggered massive outbursts of aurora in the Northern Hemisphere throughout the first week of the year. Pictured: Anchorage, Alaska on New Year’s Day
To make things even more exciting, a massive ‘coronal hole’ formed in the sun’s atmosphere – a dark area of cooler plasma.
These holes allow a constant stream of charged particles called ‘solar wind’ to escape from the sun and bombard Earth.
This meant that even more particles arrived to collide with the Earth’s atmosphere leading to even brighter aurora.
Last week, auroras were forecast in the US as far south as Washington, northern Idaho and Montana over the US.
On Monday, NASA recorded the explosion of an extremely strong solar flare rated as a class X1.8.
NASA wrote: ‘Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.’
However, no significant disruption is forecast due to this stellar explosion.
The reason that there has been so much activity lately is because the sun is now at its ‘solar maximum’ – the peak of the sun’s 11-year activity cycle.
The auroral activity was made even stronger by the formation of a coronal hole – a dark, cool region which allows charged particles to escape. On January 3, a large coronal hole (pictured) formed which could have made the Northern Lights even more intense
The Northern Lights have been more active recently because the sun is now at its ‘solar maximum’. At this time there are far more sunspots (cool regions associated with solar flares) which leads to an increased level of activity and more intense auroras on Earth
The sun goes through an 11-year cycle in which the number of sunspots (cool regions associated with solar flares) gradually increases.
In October last year, NASA revealed that the sun had reached its solar maximum and could stay at that level for another year.
That means an increased number of sunspots, more solar flares, and even brighter aurora.
While these solar flares can be dangerous to electrical systems on Earth, it also means that there will be plenty more opportunities for NASA’s astronauts to bring us some spectacular views of the Northern Lights.
SOLAR STORMS PRESENT A CLEAR DANGER TO ASTRONAUTS AND CAN DAMAGE SATELLITES
Solar storms, or solar activity, can be divided into four main components that can have impacts on Earth:
- Solar flares: A large explosion in the sun’s atmosphere. These flares are made of photons that travel out directly from the flare site. Solar flares impact Earth only when they occur on the side of the sun facing Earth.
- Coronal Mass Ejections (CME’s): Large clouds of plasma and magnetic field that erupt from the sun. These clouds can erupt in any direction, and then continue on in that direction, plowing through solar wind. These clouds only cause impacts to Earth when they’re aimed at Earth.
- High-speed solar wind streams: These come from coronal holes on the sun, which form anywhere on the sun and usually only when they are closer to the solar equator do the winds impact Earth.
- Solar energetic particles: High-energy charged particles thought to be released primarily by shocks formed at the front of coronal mass ejections and solar flares. When a CME cloud plows through solar wind, solar energetic particles can be produced and because they are charged, they follow the magnetic field lines between the Sun and Earth. Only charged particles that follow magnetic field lines that intersect Earth will have an impact.
While these may seem dangerous, astronauts are not in immediate danger of these phenomena because of the relatively low orbit of manned missions.
However, they do have to be concerned about cumulative exposure during space walks.
This photo shows the sun’s coronal holes in an x-ray image. The outer solar atmosphere, the corona, is structured by strong magnetic fields, which when closed can cause the atmosphere to suddenly and violently release bubbles or tongues of gas and magnetic fields called coronal mass ejections
The damage caused by solar storms
Solar flares can damage satellites and have an enormous financial cost.
The charged particles can also threaten airlines by disturbing Earth’s magnetic field.
Very large flares can even create currents within electricity grids and knock out energy supplies.
When Coronal Mass Ejections strike Earth they cause geomagnetic storms and enhanced aurora.
They can disrupt radio waves, GPS coordinates and overload electrical systems.
A large influx of energy could flow into high voltage power grids and permanently damage transformers.
This could shut off businesses and homes around the world.
Source: NASA – Solar Storm and Space Weather
