Here's the full aurora view from NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick.
Matthew Dominick/NASAMassive Hurricane Milton (here's how to track the storm) is another one of Dominick's photography targets. He shared a sobering view of the powerful hurricane on Oct. 8 as seen from the same spacecraft window as the aurora. What a difference a little change in geography and timing can make. The space station witnesses 16 sunrises and sunsets each day, so astronauts have many opportunities to photograph what's going on down on the planet.
Dominick later posted an aurora timelapse video on Oct. 8.
"We shot a couple thousand images yesterday trying to get the settings, lighting, and framing just right across multiple orbital nights because the aurora was amazing due to recent solar activity," he said.
The sun is in a time of high activity, shooting out flares and sending coronal mass ejections at Earth. Those outbursts of solar material can trigger spectacular auroras. The northern lights were particularly active in early October and more light shows can be expected this month. Stay tuned to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center for the latest on aurora-watching possibilities.
Seeing an aurora from the ground is an ethereal experience, but thanks to Dominick, you can get a sense of what it's like to be an astronaut in orbit, zipping over one of nature's most impressive spectacles.
Source: cnet.com