Auroras, flares and timelapses from the ISS

The sun's recent mood swings have resulted in an impressive display of flares and auroras, a spectacle enjoyed by observers on Earth and astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick recently shared a fascinating timelapse video of the moon taking in a vibrant red and green aurora. The video, released on August 12, also features parts of the ISS and a docked Russian Soyuz capsule, bathed in blue light as the sunrise follows the setting moon.

Astronauts on the ISS have the unique opportunity to witness 16 sunrises and sunsets each day, along with numerous moonrises and moonsets. In Dominick's timelapse, the moon appears as a bright point descending toward Earth. Dominick, a photography enthusiast, has shared several images of the brilliant aurora dancing through the atmosphere. He tweeted: “The aurora has been amazing the last few days.”

Dominick's photography equipment was recently upgraded with the arrival of new lenses on the Cygnus cargo ship, which delivered 8,200 pounds of supplies to the ISS on August 6. Dominick, who launched to the ISS on March 3 as commander of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission, has been sharing behind-the-scenes insights into his microgravity photography work.

Interestingly, the timelapse video is oriented with Earth at the bottom of the frame, which is how we perceive it on Earth, but not how astronauts on the ISS experience the view. Dominick revealed in a series of tweets that he sees the Earth pointing above him when he looks out the window. He usually rotates the images 180 degrees before posting them online to make them look more natural to us on Earth.

Recent solar activity, including flares and coronal mass ejections, can affect radio communications, electrical power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts. However, these solar phenomena also contribute to the stunning auroras that appear in Dominick's photographs and timelapses. For those interested in more views of the ISS, NASA's Earth Astronaut Photography Gateway provides a portal to explore, search, and download images captured by astronauts.