Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2024 September 13 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Aurora Australis and the International Space Station Image Credit: [3]NASA, ISS [4]Expedition 71 Explanation: [5]This snapshot from the [6]International Space Station was taken on August 11 while orbiting about 430 kilometers above the Indian Ocean, Southern Hemisphere, [7]planet Earth. The spectacular view looks south and east, down toward the planet's horizon and through red and green curtains of [8]aurora australis. The auroral glow is caused by emission from excited oxygen atoms in the extremely rarefied [9]upper atmosphere still present at the level of the orbiting outpost. Green emission from atomic oxygen dominates this scene at altitudes of 100 to 250 kilometers, while red emission from atomic oxygen can extend as high as 500 kilometers altitude. Beyond the glow of these southern lights, this view from low Earth orbit reveals the starry sky from a southern [10]hemisphere perspective. Stars in Orion's belt and the Orion Nebula are near the Earth's limb just left of center. Sirius, alpha star of [11]Canis Major and brightest star in planet Earth's night is above center along the right edge of the southern orbital skyscape. Looking Up: [12]International Observe the Moon Night Tomorrow's picture: If the Moon could smile __________________________________________________________________ [13]< | [14]Archive | [15]Submissions | [16]Index | [17]Search | [18]Calendar | [19]RSS | [20]Education | [21]About APOD | [22]Discuss | [23]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [24]Robert Nemiroff ([25]MTU) & [26]Jerry Bonnell ([27]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [28]Specific rights apply. [29]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [30]ASD at [31]NASA / [32]GSFC, [33]NASA Science Activation & [34]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2409/iss071e564695_4096.jpg 3. https://www.nasa.gov/ 4. https://www.nasa.gov/mission/expedition-71/ 5. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/53975674810/ 6. https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/ 7. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/blogs/earthmatters/2024/05/15/citizen-scientists-capture-brilliant-photos-of-the-aurora/ 8. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/1346/aurora-australis 9. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-atmosphere/earths-atmosphere-a-multi-layered-cake/ 10. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100115.html 11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canis_Major#Features 12. https://moon.nasa.gov/observe-the-moon-night/about/overview/ 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240912.html 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 17. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 22. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=240913 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240914.html 24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 27. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 29. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 30. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 31. https://www.nasa.gov/ 32. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 33. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 34. http://www.mtu.edu/