Astronauts on the International Space Station have photographed Earth’s auroras and city lights from 250 miles up. NASA shared a September 9 image of a glowing green aurora on October 19, capturing both cosmic and terrestrial events.
Spacefarers from the United States, Russia, and Europe can document everything from dazzling auroras to human-made fireworks from an orbital vantage point. These images show the planet’s upper atmosphere and surface from low-Earth orbit, where the station typically maintains a height of about 260 miles.
Anil Menon Photographs Aurora
Astronaut Anil Menon captured a natural light display in the upper atmosphere on Sept. 9. The photograph shows an aurora glimmering in red and green hues, while the surface of the Earth below is streaked with white and yellow lights.
The image also reveals hardware from the space station, including its solar panels.
Earth’s surface, seen from low-Earth orbit, streaks with yellow and white lights, with a glowing green aurora visible in the distance. Star trails are visible above.
NASA
Crew-13 Joins ISS Personnel
- NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney
- Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency
- Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov
Anil Menon arrived in mid-July for an eight-month mission. He traveled aboard a Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft alongside Anna Kikina and Pyotr Dubrov, both from Russia.
Five Agencies Manage Orbital Lab
The International Space Station has functioned as a scientific research lab in microgravity for over 25 years. A partnership involving the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, NASA, and Roscosmos manages the facility.
More than 290 spacefarers from 26 different countries have visited the station, according to NASA. Of those visitors, 174 were from the United States. The station serves as a test bed to prepare humans for deeper space exploration and has previously hosted private commercial missions.
Star trails are visible above.
NASA