The Aurora and the Sunrise
Explanation:
On the International Space Station (ISS),
you can only admire an aurora until the sun rises.
Then the background Earth becomes too bright.
Unfortunately, after
sunset, the rapid orbit of the ISS around the Earth means
that sunrise is usually less than
47
minutes away.
In the
featured image, a green aurora is visible below the
ISS -- and on the horizon to the upper right, while sunrise
approaches ominously from the upper left.
Watching an aurora from space can be
mesmerizing
as its changing shape has been compared to a giant green amoeba.
Auroras are composed of energetic electrons and protons from the Sun that impact
the
Earth's
magnetic field and then
spiral down toward the Earth so fast that they cause
atmospheric atoms and molecules to glow.
The
ISS orbits at nearly
the same height as auroras, many times
flying right through an aurora's thin upper layers,
an event that neither harms astronauts nor
changes the shape of the aurora.
Share the Sky:
NASA Open API for APOD
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
