One of the highlights for astronauts who spend time aboard the International Space Station (ISS) is the chance to enjoy breathtaking aurora from some 250 miles above Earth.
The space station’s X account has just shared some stunning footage showing an aurora captured by a camera on the ISS as it traveled over Canada, from west to east.
The space station on Jan. 4 soared into a stunning aurora dancing over Canada with city lights dotting the landscape below before orbiting into a sunrise 259 miles above the Atlantic Ocean. pic.twitter.com/xhBJPZm5rm
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) February 9, 2025
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An aurora — also known as the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) in the northern hemisphere, and Southern Lights (aurora australis) in the southern hemisphere — is a natural display of light in the sky, most often seen in high-latitude regions.
The beautiful phenomenon comprises dynamic patterns of brilliant light that appear as curtains, rays, spirals, or dynamic flickers covering much of the sky.
They’re caused by disturbances in the Earth’s magnetosphere as it interacts with solar winds, with the dramatic effect the result of collisions between fast-moving electrons from space and the oxygen and nitrogen in Earth’s upper atmosphere.
Astronauts on a regular six-month mission at the space station are likely to see plenty of aurora events, so long as they’re looking out of the window as they fly over it.
The best place aboard the ISS to see an aurora is from the Cupola, a seven-window module offering panoramic views of Earth and beyond.
While the ISS has a number of Earth-facing cameras fixed to the outside of the facility that are constantly tracking events down below, astronauts with a keen photographic eye also enjoy using the station’s professional cameras and lenses to try to capture aurora. Current ISS astronaut Don Pettit, for example, recently shared his own footage of one of the light shows.
Retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield once offered his own take on the spectacular occurrence, saying: “To look at the Northern Lights is like magic. To be in them, to surf on them, that’s beyond magic. It’s surreal.”