An amazing video filmed from the International Space Station (ISS) has captured the incredible spectacle of shimmering aurora visible from space. The ISS posted the footage on Twitter on Sunday after a moderate geomagnetic storm hit our planet.
The time-lapse video showed a view from the space station as it travelled above the Indian Ocean toward the Coral Sea east of Australia, during which time the aurora could be seen. "This time-lapse video shows an orbital pass above an aurora-draped Indian Ocean all the way to a moonlit Coral Sea east of Australia," the caption of the Twitter post read.
Watch the video below:
Auroras - also known as the northern or southern lights - are vibrant displays of light that are caused when gaseous particles in the Earth's atmosphere and charged particles from the Sun collide.
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This phenomenon occurs in the Earth's upper atmosphere and is mostly seen at high or polar latitudes. According to the Canadian Space Agency, auroras occur at roughly the same altitude as the space station, meaning astronauts can sometimes see them at eye level.
Since being shared, the tweet has amassed more than 113,000 views and nearly 3,000 likes. The video left internet users amazed.
While one user wrote, "So beautiful and enchanting! It seems enigmatic and mysterious," another said, "Oh yea, that beautiful creation and all the amazing life that is on it just happened to exist without a Creator. God loves beauty!"
"Absolutely fascinating," commented third. "Every stargazer's dream place. Amazing view of our universe from the ISS," added fourth.
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According to Newsweek, the video was shot after a stream of solar wind struck the Earth and sparked a geomagnetic storm of the G2 class. The storm produced an aurora in some regions, including parts of the United States.
A G2 storm is considered to be of "moderate strength". These types of geomagnetic storms have the potential to interfere with power systems at high latitudes.
