| ISS003 Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights |
| TOP PICKS |
| Click here to view the complete online collection of astronaut photography of Earth >> |
| ISS003-E-6816 |
 ISS003-E-6816 Click the photo number to access all resolutions available and the database record. |
| Red Aurora as Seen from the Space Station: Red colors of the
aurora are dominant in this image captured by a digital still camera
in mid September 2001. Auroras are caused when high-energy electrons
pour down from the Earth’s magnetosphere and collide with atoms. Red
aurora occurs from 200 km to as high as 500 km altitude and is caused
by the emission of 6300 Angstrom wavelength light from oxygen atoms.
The light is emitted when the atoms return to their original
unexcited state. The white spot in the image is from a light on the
inside of the Station that is reflected off the inside of the window.
The pale blue arch on the left side of the frame is sunlight
reflecting of the atmospheric limb of the Earth. At times of peaks in solar activity, there are more geomagnetic storms and this increases the auroral activity viewed on Earth and by astronauts from orbit. By using a digital camera with a long exposure time, astronauts can capture a part of the light from the multicolored displays they observe, and downlink those images to Earth. |
| < Back |
|
This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science Directorate. Recommended Citation: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth." . |
||||
 |
|
|
 |
|