Gallery: Mesmerizing Videos of Northern and Southern Lights Seen From Space
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The billowing radiance of the northern and southern lights is among the most beautiful sights known to humanity – and that's when seen from the ground. Imagine watching the lights from low-Earth orbit. Through the International Space Station's windows, 200 miles above Earth's surface, the auroras borealis and australis dance across continents. They're a regular treat for ISS astronauts who circuit the planet every few hours, passing frequently over Earth's polar regions, where the auroras are strongest. Only infrequently do the lights, created when solar particles collide with Earth's magnetic field, drift to more median latitudes. One such show occurred last week after [a large solar flare](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/07/solar-flare-video/) buffeted Earth with gusts of solar wind. In the United States, auroras glowed as far south as Maryland and Iowa, while in the southern hemisphere they could be seen above New Zealand. It was a rare happening, which made it all the more frustrating for people whose view was blocked by clouds or drowned by city lights. So for everyone who didn't get a chance to see that summertime show, a consolation prize: videos of the northern and southern lights as seen from the space station. On the following pages are videos shot in the first several months of 2012. They're collected on NASA's [Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth](http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/Videos/CrewEarthObservationsVideos/Videos_Aurora.htm) site, where high-resolution versions can be found and new films are regularly added. __Above:__ Aurora Australis Over the Indian Ocean -------------------------------------- Off the southern coast of western Australia, the southern lights shimmer over a bank of scattered clouds.
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The Milky Way, Stars, and Aurora Borealis ----------------------------------------- Captured as the ISS flew northeast from the Caribbean to New Brunswick, an unfiltered Milky Way starscape combines with aurora borealis, lightning storms, eastern seaboard city lights and sunrise in a brief but glorious show.
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Aurora Borealis Over Western Europe ----------------------------------- Starting off Africa's northwest coast, continuing over the Iberian Peninsula and finishing in western Europe, the video concludes with multicolored auroras visible in the darkness beyond Paris, London and Amsterdam.
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Aurora Borealis Over the Great Lakes and Canada ----------------------------------------------- Captured as the ISS passed from northwestern Wisconsin to southeastern Quebec, northern lights far outshine the scattered settlements below.
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Aurora Borealis Across Northern United States ----------------------------------------------- The northern lights are visible at the video's beginning, which was shot over southern Canada, just north of Montana. They fade as the space station's trajectory carries it over Toronto, New England and the eastern U.S. seaboard.
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Aurora Borealis Over Canada ---------------------------- Auroras flicker over a snowbound Canada as the ISS flies eastward from Vancouver.
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Passing Over Aurora Australis ----------------------------- The underside of aurora astralis can be seen as the ISS approaches it over the Indian Ocean.
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Aurora Borealis Over Northern North America and Canada ------------------------------------------------------ Like the other videos, this was made by combining photographs taken at a rate of one per second. Starting off the Pacific Northwest coast, just south of Vancouver Island, and finishing in western Quebec, the video represents 13 minutes of flight time.
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City Lights Over Eastern United States -------------------------------------- The eastern seaboard's dense glow outshines the northern lights in this video, in which the space station's trajectory took it from the midwestern U.S. to Bermuda.
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Aurora Australis Over the Indian Ocean 2 ---------------------------------------- The ISS passes over the South Indian Ocean.
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Heading Towards Aurora Australis -------------------------------- The southern lights appear on the horizon and soon pass below the ISS as it travels a circuit from the waters off southwestern Australia to southern New Zealand.
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ISS Over Aurora Australis ------------------------- Just east of the Kerguelen Islands, the southern lights shine directly below the ISS.
