Ask any astronaut about the pleasures of spending time aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and one of the responses will surely be the incredible views that they get to enjoy from 250 miles above Earth.
The scenery can include everything from remarkable vistas of places far below, sunrises and sunsets every 90 minutes, astonishing views of thunderstorms, and, far beyond Earth, stunning scenery that includes the moon and even the Milky Way.
They’re also regularly treated to aurora, an amazing natural light display caused by the interaction of solar winds with Earth’s magnetic field. NASA astronaut Don Pettit, an ISS crewmember who always seems to have a camera at hand, has just shared a couple of video clips showing recent aurora as the orbital outpost passed overhead.
These are by no means the first aurora to be captured from the space station, but this first video seems unlike many of the other aurora clips we’ve seen in recent years, with the lush green colors, described by Pettit as “vaporous turbulence,” sweeping through the shot in dramatic fashion.
The second video features a wider angle that also includes the curvature of Earth, with the captured footage no less dramatic.
Pettit has been in orbit since September last year, and in that time he’s been dazzling earthlings with a steady stream of images and videos captured from way above Earth.
One of his most striking shots shows rivers in the Amazon Basin. Taken at night, Pettit said the picture reminded him of “flowing silver snakes.” He also shared a remarkable image showing Blue Origin’s maiden launch of the New Glenn rocket, with the vehicle’s second stage seen streaking across the image, which also includes lots of star trails.
Pettit’s impressive photography work follows in the footsteps of other astronauts with a keen eye, including Frenchman Thomas Pesquet, who focused more on capturing beautiful Earth shots as the space station passed overhead.