Aurora Australis, As Seen from the ISS on May 29
This pic from NASA looks like it could have come from any one of a hundred different science fiction movies. But, as usual, the truth is wilder than fiction – as the astronauts aboard the International Space Station caught this rare view of the Aurora Australis above the Indian Ocean this past May 29. Similar to its northern sister, the Aurora Borealis, the Aurora Australis usually occurs near the South Pole when highly energetic ions from the sun collide with oxygen and nitrogen in the ionosphere, temporarily exciting those particles such that they emit light and color as they return to their normal states. Coolio.
