Green fire. That’s how some of them describe it. Imagine floating in a tin can 250 miles above the Earth, traveling at 17,500 miles per hour, and suddenly the horizon starts to glow like a neon sign. Seeing the aurora borealis from ISS isn't just a highlight of a space mission; it is, for many, a spiritual experience that defies the grainy footage we see on YouTube.
The view is different up there. Way different. On the ground, you're looking up at a curtain. In orbit, you are flying through it.
What it’s actually like to witness the aurora borealis from ISS
Astronauts like Terry Virts or Scott Kelly have spent hundreds of hours trying to capture this phenomenon, but they often admit the camera fails them. When you see the aurora borealis from ISS, you aren't just seeing light. You’re seeing the Earth's magnetic shield under siege. It looks like a living, breathing entity. Sometimes it’s a thin ribbon of lime green. Other times, it’s a towering wall of deep crimson that reaches up toward the station’s solar arrays.
The scale is staggering.
From the Cupola—the seven-windowed observation module on the International Space Station—the aurora looks like a ghost dancing over the planet. It moves. It pulses. It’s not a static glow. Because the ISS completes an orbit every 90 minutes, astronauts might see the sun rise and set 16 times a day. This means they get multiple front-row seats to the light show every single "day."
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Physics explains it, but physics feels a bit dry when you're staring at a 1,000-mile-long streak of glowing gas. Basically, the Sun spits out a bunch of charged particles—solar wind—and these particles slam into Earth's magnetic field. They get funneled toward the poles. When they hit the gases in our atmosphere, they "excite" the atoms. Oxygen gives you that classic green and those rare, haunting reds. Nitrogen usually brings the purples and blues to the party.
The Red vs. Green Mystery
Most people think the aurora is just green. That’s the most common color because the human eye is super sensitive to that specific wavelength, and there’s plenty of oxygen at the lower altitudes where these collisions happen.
However, seeing the aurora borealis from ISS offers a perspective on the "High Altitude Red." These reds occur much higher up, around 150 to 250 miles—right where the ISS hangs out. This happens when solar particles hit oxygen at a much lower density. It’s a slower reaction. It’s rarer. From the ground, these reds are often too faint to see clearly, but for an astronaut, they can be so bright they reflect off the station's hull.
The Technical Challenge of Capturing the Glow
You’d think with the best gear in the world, taking a photo of the aurora would be easy. Nope. It’s actually a nightmare for the crew.
The ISS is moving incredibly fast. If you leave the shutter open too long to catch the dim light of the aurora, the stars and the Earth’s surface become a blurry mess. To get those crisp shots we see on NASA's Flickr, astronauts have to use extremely high ISO settings and fast lenses. Even then, they have to deal with the "glare" from inside the station. They often have to wrap the windows in black cloth to stop the internal LED lights from ruining the shot.
NASA astronaut Don Pettit is famous for his "space-hacks." He used to build custom mounts and use specific intervalometer settings to create time-lapses that actually feel fluid. Without those tricks, the aurora borealis from ISS just looks like a green smudge in a dark room.
Solar Cycles and Peak Viewing
If you're wondering why we've seen so many photos lately, it's because we are currently near the Solar Maximum. The Sun goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. Right now, it’s throwing a bit of a tantrum. More sunspots mean more Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). More CMEs mean the aurora is pushed further from the poles toward the equator.
In 2024 and 2025, the ISS crew reported seeing auroras while flying over places they normally wouldn't, like the southern United States or parts of Europe. It’s a busy time for the cameras on board.
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Why the Aurora Matters Beyond Aesthetics
It isn't just a pretty light show. For the scientists at NASA and ESA, the aurora borealis from ISS is a giant laboratory experiment. It tells us about the "space weather" that can fry our satellites.
- Satellite Drag: When the aurora is active, the atmosphere actually heats up and expands. This creates more drag on the ISS and other low-earth orbit satellites. They actually have to boost the station's orbit more frequently during high solar activity.
- Radiation Risks: While the magnetic field protects the Earth, the astronauts are a bit more exposed. During massive solar flares that cause intense auroras, the crew might be advised to stay in more shielded parts of the station, like the Russian Zvezda module or the US Destiny lab.
- GPS Interference: The same energy that creates the aurora can mess with the ionosphere, leading to GPS errors back on the ground. By studying the lights from above, researchers can better predict when your Google Maps might go wonky.
Honestly, it's easy to get lost in the "wow" factor, but there’s a lot of grit behind those photos. The crew is usually working 12-hour days filled with grueling maintenance and biology experiments. Waking up in the middle of their "night" to float to the Cupola and catch a glimpse of the aurora borealis from ISS is a sacrifice of precious sleep. But ask any of them—they’ll tell you it’s the only thing that makes them feel truly connected to the planet they left behind.
Actionable Insights for Space Enthusiasts
While most of us won't get to the ISS anytime soon, you can still experience the orbital view of the aurora through a few specific methods.
- Follow the ISS Live Stream: NASA often broadcasts live video from the HDEV (High Definition Earth Viewing) cameras. When the station passes over the night side of the Earth during a solar storm, you can see the aurora in real-time.
- Track the Kp-Index: Use apps like "My Aurora Forecast" or the Space Weather Prediction Center (NOAA) website. If the Kp-index is 6 or higher, check the NASA live feeds immediately.
- Explore the Gateway to Astronaut Photography: This is a NASA database where you can search for "aurora" and see raw, unedited files. It’s much more authentic than the color-graded versions you see on Instagram.
- Use VR for Perspective: There are several ISS VR experiences (like "The ISS Experience" by Felix & Paul Studios) that used specialized 360-degree cameras to capture the aurora. It's the closest thing to actually floating in the Cupola.
The next time you see a photo of that green glow, remember it's more than just gas. It’s a collision of cosmic proportions happening right on our doorstep, and for the handful of people living in the sky, it's the greatest show in the universe.