Tuesday, July 17, 2007

This is cool!

Aurora from Space
click on image to enlarge Credit: Don Pettit, ISS Expedition 6, NASA
Explanation: From the ground, spectacular auroras seem to dance high above. But the International Space Station (ISS) orbits at nearly the same height as many auroras, sometimes passing over them, and sometimes right through them. Still, the auroral electron and proton streams pose no direct danger to the ISS. In 2003, ISS Science Officer Don Pettit captured the green aurora, pictured above in a digitally sharpened image. From orbit, Pettit reported that changing auroras appeared to crawl around like giant green amoebas. Over 300 kilometers below, the Manicouagan Impact Crater can be seen in northern Canada, planet Earth.

4 comments:

Spirula said...

Thought you might enjoy this (if you haven't already seen it).

http://www.frontiermultimedia.com/deepspace.htm

Stardust said...

spirula, thanks! No, I hadn't seen it. I wish I could live a second life. I would definitely become an astronomer, or go into astrophotography.

The images at Frontier are absolutely magnificent.

Naomi said...

Spirula, I'm disappointed in that site. The video goes to the half-way point and stops - just as it was getting closer to Earth...

Naomi said...

Oops! I just read more on that page, and found that I can buy the rest of the vid...Of course, they deserve the money. It's just the teasing that goes on...

It should carry a warning: "This is just a sample - and is so awesome, we know you'll pay to own the whole thing! Open wide...."