Astronaut Captures Stunning Southern Aurora from International Space Station
French astronaut Sophie Adenot, aboard the International Space Station (ISS), captured a remarkable image of the southern aurora, also known as the aurora australis, while orbiting 431 kilometers above Earth. The photograph, taken on May 7, 2026, shows vibrant green and pink bands of light over the Indian Ocean, near the coast of Perth, Australia. This phenomenon occurs when charged solar particles interact with Earth's magnetic field, colliding with oxygen and nitrogen molecules in the atmosphere to release energy as light. The image provides a unique perspective, revealing the aurora as a luminous layer surrounding the planet, a view not typically seen from the Earth's surface.