A Dazzling Aurora Borealis

Astronauts and sky watchers oohed and aahed as the night sky lit up with pulsating displays of reds, greens, and purples.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using VIIRS day-night band data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership. Astronaut photograph ISS068-E-59877 was acquired on February 28, 2023, with a Nikon D5 digital camera using an 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 68 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 Adam Voiland.

Published March 3, 2023
Data acquired February 27, 2023

Sources:

ISS > Digital Camera

Suomi NPP > VIIRS

Collection:

Earth at Night