Vibrant Auroras

Curtains of colorful light danced across the sky after solar storms sent energized particles crashing into Earth’s upper atmosphere.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin and Wanmei Liang, using VIIRS day-night band data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership. Astronaut photograph ISS070-E-14996 was acquired on October 28, 2023, with a Nikon D5 digital camera using a 24 millimeter lens and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by a member of the Expedition 70 crew. The image has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Story by Emily Cassidy.

Published November 10, 2023
Data acquired October 28 - November 5, 2023

Sources:

ISS > Digital Camera

Suomi NPP > VIIRS