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Space Station Science

Picture of the Day

June 12, 2003

Aurora Australis
Photo credit: ISS Expedition 7 science officer Ed Lu, NASA

June 12, 2003: On June 2nd, Earth entered a high-speed solar wind
stream. Its source: a coronal hole on the sun. Solar wind gusts shook
Earth's magnetic field and sparked bright auroras for days. 

The International Space Station (ISS) was over the Indian Ocean,
southwest of Australia, on June 3rd when Expedition 7 science officer
Ed Lu looked out the window and saw these Southern Lights--aurora
australis. He grabbed his digital camera and took a rapid-fire
sequence of images, which we have stitched together into a movie. 

Spanning 3 minutes and 17 seconds, the movie reveals a lot of
activity: There are multiple glowing arcs, and bright knots of light
that grow, divide and vanish. During ISS Expedition 6, astronaut Don
Pettit likened such auroras to something alive: "green glowing
amoebas." 

The movie also illustrates why a special barndoor tracker is needed
for long-exposure Earth photography--but not for astrophotography.
The ISS circles Earth traveling 17,500 mph. The nearby planet races
past the window much faster than the more distant stars. (The four
stars hanging above Earth's limb are the brightest stars of the
southern constellation Corvus.) 

Solar activity has been high this week, which means more auroras--and
more great photos--are possible during the days ahead. 

Today's picture, ISS007-E-06077, was captured using a digital camera
and an 50 mm lens. Additional images taken by astronauts and
cosmonauts may be viewed at the NASA-JSC Gateway to Astronaut
Photography of Earth. 

Credits & Contacts
Author: Dr. Tony Phillips 
Responsible NASA official: Ron Koczor 
Production Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips 
Curator: Bryan Walls 
Media Relations: Catherine Watson

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