On Tuesday, Nasa astronaut Matthew Dominick shared a stunning timelapse video from aboard the International Space Station (ISS) showing an image of the moon setting with vibrant red and green lights. In addition, the video shows a sunrise in light blue color which illuminates Soyuz spacecraft.
Dominick went on X to show his interest in aurora borealis. He wrote, “Moon setting streaming down through curtains of red and green auroras followed by dawn breaking on Soyuz with a pale blueish hue. Awesome display of northern lights for the past few days. What good timing to try out my new lens that just arrived via Cygnus.”
“Those visuals are related to recent solar flares that have caused widespread auroras around the globe,” clarified Dominick.
This video lasts approximately 1 minute and 48 seconds. As Mathew described it on his Facebook page, he also disclosed camera details such as “15mm, T1.8, 1/3s exposure, 1/2 s interval”.
These geomagnetic storms causing these auroras are being formed as charged particles from sun enter earth’s atmosphere. These storms have been quite intense leading to very beautiful displays of northern and southern lights.
The national oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) has said that this storm activity will continue giving sky watchers more chances to see them.
“The northern and southern lights have been stunning because of these geomagnetic storms created when electrically charged atoms from the sun interact with Earth’s atmosphere,” NOAA’s bulletin read.
At an altitude of around 420 km above earth surface, ISS is a unique platform for witnessing such happenings. On their part, astronauts on board ISS capture many stunning photographs or videos about both Earth itself. And what lies beyond space thus providing insights along with awe-inspiring pictures for the public.
Scientists as well as enthusiasts are watching keenly as solar activities increase hoping not to miss these magical moments.
More than that, the recent increase in solar activity has brought more frequent solar flares and coronal mass ejections. Although these events are disruptive to power grids as well as satellite communications. They also expand the range of aurora observations beyond polar latitudes.
