Astronaut captures ‘never-before-seen’ aurora intensity from ISS

Vibrant fuchsia and pale green auroras dance above Earth’s surface. The moon is illuminated in the distance as the International Space Station (ISS) orbits the planet. Swelling music accompanies this epic view.

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick captured this auroras time-lapse video in early August 2024. The stunning display was caused by a powerful solar storm that harmlessly collided with Earth. The storm’s intensity produced visible auroras as far south as Texas and Mississippi—a rare treat for these latitudes. Dominick shared his awe with speaking to Scientific American:

“It was intense. I’m up here with a couple of veteran folks that have spent more than a year of their life in space across missions, and all of them have unanimously said they’ve never seen anything like it.”

Auroras occur when solar eruptions, called coronal mass ejections (CMEs), collide with Earth’s magnetic field. This cosmic dance sends charged particles racing through our atmosphere, which then collide with various elements to produce the colorful light shows we see. NASA explains the science behind the colors:

“The color of an aurora depends on which gas is excited by the incoming particles and where that gas is located in the atmosphere. When a particle interacts with either oxygen or nitrogen, the excess energy from the interaction results in a burst of light. Oxygen and nitrogen can emit green, red, or blue lights. The combination of the different amounts of gases can produce purple, pink, and white lights. All together, the cascade of energy, location, and interactions produce the wonderful colors of the auroras.”

For anyone interested in observing auroras from Earth, scientists predict increased opportunities over the next two years, thanks to the peak of the sun’s 11-year cycle.

Plus, enjoy more aurora videos anytime on TKSST:
• This is NOT time lapse: the Aurora Borealis in real time
• How is the Aurora Borealis created?
• A Fort Yukon, Alaska 4K aurora timelapse compilation
• A lunar eclipse and the auroras over Alaska, an 8K 360º time lapse