Watch | NASA astronaut captures rare Northern Lights aurora display over North America from the International Space Station |

A latest celestial display left each Earthbound viewers and astronauts aboard the International Space Station in awe, as the Northern Lights lit up the skies over elements of the United States and Canada in keeping with the ET studies. Captured by NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers, the aurora appeared unexpectedly whereas she was photographing extreme storms on Earth. The beautiful inexperienced and purple lights had been triggered by heightened geomagnetic exercise, with the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center reporting a Kp index of 6. This stage of depth not solely enhanced visibility from area but in addition supplied a panoramic pure spectacle throughout a lot of the Northern Hemisphere.

NASA astronaut captures glimpse of northern lights over North America

Ayers subsequently posted the video on-line, exhibiting colourful inexperienced and purple waves of aurorae swooshing via the high a part of the environment over a lot of the northern United States and Canada. “The Aurora appeared this past weekend when I didn’t anticipate it!” Ayers posted. “I was attempting to catch the huge storms that moved through both North and South America and had a pleasant surprise.”The aurora occurred at native sundown occasions in the Northern Hemisphere and could possibly be seen each from area and on Earth in elements of the US and Canada. The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) stated the exercise in the aurora was attributable to excessive geomagnetic situations, with the Kp index, a system for measuring the power of geomagnetic storms reaching a stage 6 out of a most of 9. A Kp index at this stage tends to supply brighter and extra in depth auroral exercise, rising visibility from Earth and low-Earth orbit.

Ayers captures Earth’s magnificence whereas contributing to science

Since her touchdown on the ISS in March 2025 as a member of NASA’s Crew-10 mission aboard SpaceX, Ayers has posted common time-lapse footage and Earth pictures, offering each scientific data and visible magic. One of her earlier posts in April additionally recorded aurora exercise whereas in orbit, exhibiting how frequent and enormous such shows could be underneath good photo voltaic situations.In a latest weblog, Ayers commented on the double nature of her imagery: scientific usefulness and aesthetic magnificence. “We see beauty, while scientists see data,” she wrote. “These pictures can help researchers get the information they need.”Ayers additionally mentioned her filming of geological landforms, reminiscent of a flyby of Italy’s Mt. Etna volcano, which is at the moment lively. Observing the clear absence of metropolis lights surrounding the lively volcano, Ayers defined how she knew the landmark directly. “I knew right away where we were because of the absence of lights where the volcano is.”

What causes the northern lights

Aurora borealis, or northern lights, are a results of the interplay between streams of charged particles which might be emitted by the Sun, known as photo voltaic wind, and Earth’s magnetosphere. The particles spiral down magnetic discipline strains in direction of the poles and collide with atoms in the higher environment, particularly oxygen and nitrogen.These impacts eject photons, creating the aurora’s attribute glow. Green and purple gentle are emitted by oxygen, whereas nitrogen provides purples and blues, yielding an lively spectrum of coloration in the sky.Also Read | How large is the universe? Discover what scientists have uncovered past Pluto