NASA Astronaut Captures Spectacular Southern Lights Display from Space
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir filmed a timelapse of the Southern Lights from aboard the SpaceX Dragon shuttle in space. The Southern Lights occur as frequently as the Northern Lights but are less well-known because fewer people live near the South Pole. The lights result from Earth's magnetic field channeling charged particles from the Sun toward polar regions, where they collide with the atmosphere to create colorful displays.
NASA astronaut Jessica Meir captured a spectacular timelapse of the Southern Lights from the SpaceX Dragon shuttle orbiting Earth. The Southern Lights, also known as the aurora australis, are created when charged particles from the Sun are channeled by Earth's magnetic field toward the polar regions, where they collide with atmospheric gases and produce shimmering waves of color. Despite occurring as regularly as the Northern Lights and taking place over Antarctica, the Southern Lights remain less famous than their northern counterpart primarily because relatively few people inhabit latitudes close to the South Pole. The footage provides a rare perspective of this natural phenomenon from space, highlighting the beauty of Earth's magnetic interactions with solar radiation.
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- BBCCenter
Watch: Southern Lights timelapse filmed from space
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