#4saur — Public Fediverse posts

2026 May 16

Aurora Slathers Up the Sky
* Image Credit: Jack Fischer, Expedition 52, NASA
https://uniphigood.com/portfolio_page/astronaut-jack-fischer/
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/%20expedition52/index.html
http://www.nasa.gov/

Explanation:
Like salsa verde on your favorite burrito, a green aurora slathers up the sky in this 2017 June 25 snapshot from the International Space Station. About 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earth, the orbiting station is itself within the upper realm of the auroral displays. Aurorae have the signature colors of excited molecules and atoms at the low densities found at extreme altitudes. Emission from atomic oxygen dominates this view. The tantalizing glow is green at lower altitudes, but rarer reddish bands extend above the space station's horizon. The orbital scene was captured while passing over a point south and east of Australia, with stars above the horizon at the right belonging to the constellation Canis Major, Orion's big dog. Sirius, alpha star of Canis Major, is the brightest star near the Earth's limb.
https://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/211.fall2000.web.projects/Christina%20Shaw/AuroraColors.html
https://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/4D.html
https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/SearchPhotos/photo.pl?mission=ISS052&roll=E&frame=7857
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/constellations/en/
https://noirlab.edu/public/education/constellations/canismajor/
http://stars.astro.illinois.edu/sow/sirius.html

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap260516.html

#space #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #apod #4sAur

2013 March 31

Flying Over the Earth at Night
* Video Credit: Gateway to Astronaut Photography, NASA
https://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/
http://www.nasa.gov/;
* Compilation: David Peterson https://www.youtube.com/user/Bitmeizer;
* Music: Freedom Fighters (Two Steps from Hell)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Steps_from_Hell

Explanation:
Many wonders are visible when flying over the Earth at night. A compilation of such visual spectacles was captured recently from the International Space Station (ISS) and set to rousing music. Passing below are white clouds, orange city lights, lightning flashes in thunderstorms, and dark blue seas. On the horizon is the golden haze of Earth's thin atmosphere, frequently decorated by dancing auroras as the video progresses. The green parts of auroras typically remain below the space station, but the station flies right through the red and purple auroral peaks. Solar panels of the ISS are seen around the frame edges. The ominous wave of approaching brightness at the end of each sequence is just the dawn of the sunlit half of Earth, a dawn that occurs every 90 minutes.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130331.html

#space #iss #earth #aurora #astrophotography #photography #NASA #science #physics #nature #education #4sAur