European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Sophie Adenot has shared the latest of the incredible images she’s captured from aboard the International Space Station (ISS), this time treating us to a mesmerizing shot of the aurora borealis as it glistened over Earth.
Adenot is part of the Epsilon mission crew, who are expected to remain in orbit for around nine months conducting microgravity research, and this new image was captured on day 127 (orbit 1,968) some 250 miles above the planet.
“That aurora was absolutely spectacular… shimmering and dancing beneath us, stretching as far as the eye could see, and so intense it lit up the Station in shades of green,” said Adenot. “Moments like these never get old up here; the whole crew suddenly find themselves vying for a good spot at a window!”
An aurora occurs when electrically charged particles from the Sun collide with gases in Earth’s upper atmosphere, causing atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen to glow vibrantly.
Adenot said she’s seen several since the mission began, but this one was “on a completely different level”, requiring different camera settings than usual. To capture the shot, she set her trusty Nikon Z9 to 1/4 sec, f/1.4 and ISO8000.
The astronaut has been documenting the mission with camera in hand since the beginning and has built out an amazing portfolio.
On day 103 (orbit 1,598) she snapped an awesome image of Mt. Vesuvius – the volcano which destroyed the Roman city of Pompeii – and Mt. Etna, an active stratovolcano on the island of Sicily, while smoke billowed from its crater.
With roughly a month left of the Epsilon mission, I’m sure we can expect more fascinating images from her before the space odyssey comes to an end.
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