My Modern Metropolis

Last week, we saw some amazing footage from the International Space Station as it flew over Earth. Kicking it up a notch, NASA released this stunning time-lapse video which displays the aurora in all its glory, taken from the International Space Station as it crossed over the southern Indian Ocean on September 17, 2011. The sped-up movie spans the time period from 12:22 to 12:45 PM ET.

According to NASA: "While aurora are often seen near the poles, this aurora appeared at lower latitudes due to a geomagnetic storm – the insertion of energy into Earth's magnetic environment called the magnetosphere – caused by a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the sun that erupted on September 14, 2011. The storm was a moderate one, rated with what's called a KP index of 6 on a scale that goes from 0 to 9, caused by just a glancing blow from the CME."

NASA website
via [Laughing Squid]

Views: 819

Tags: ISS, NASA, Space, Viewing the Northern/Southern Lights from Space

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