Latest news with #TransientLuminousEvents
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Nasa astronaut releases videos of dazzling green auroras captured from space
Nasa astronaut Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station has unveiled videos of dazzling auroras captured from the orbiting laboratory. One of the videos, which he shared recently on X, shows spectacular green lights glowing below the space station as it flies over the southern hemisphere. 'The aurora seen today from the space station while orbit was passing between Australia and Antartica,' Mr Pettit posted on X earlier this week. Another video he shared on the social media platform this week shows aurora in the form of a 'green vaporous turbulence' above Earth as the ISS flies by. Auroras are caused when bursts of charged particles released from the Sun – known as coronal mass ejections or CMEs – interact with the Earth's magnetic field. The space weather phenomenon is called aurora australis in the southern hemisphere and aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere. Aurora lights may be of different colours depending on different molecules in the atmosphere getting charged by the geomagnetic storm. For instance, oxygen in the form of O₂ gas or as ozone in the upper atmosphere, gives off a fluorescent green hue while nitrogen tends to gives a blue, red, or sometimes pink colour. Since the Earth's magnetic field is the strongest at the poles, auroras are seen more distinctly in the skies near the polar regions. Mr Pettit, 69, is a spaceflight veteran and the oldest astronaut aboard the space station. He has logged over 370 days in space overall and conducted over 13 hours of spacewalk. The Nasa astronaut is known for the variety of photographs he takes from the space station, including of space weather phenomena or onboard science experiments, which he regularly shares on X. On Friday, he shared a timelapse video of Elon Musk's Starlink satellites flying in formation, tracing parallel lines in the sky. Earlier this month, he posted a short six-second video captured straight below the space station of flashes of upper atmospheric lightning. These flashes, called Transient Luminous Events (TLE), reveal a range of lightning phenomenon above the Amazon basin. The clip includes several types of TLE above the South American region, including sprites and blue jets. Mr Pettit is currently on his fourth ISS mission, serving as a flight engineer. He arrived at the ISS in September aboard Russia's Soyuz spacecraft along with two other cosmonauts – Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The trio are expected to return to Earth later in April.
Express Tribune
11-04-2025
- Science
- Express Tribune
NASA astronaut shares mesmerising aurora videos from space
Listen to article Veteran NASA astronaut Don Pettit has released breathtaking videos of green auroras captured from the International Space Station (ISS), revealing a dazzling view of Earth's atmospheric phenomena from above. The 69-year-old astronaut shared several clips this week on X (formerly Twitter), showcasing vibrant green ribbons of light glowing beneath the ISS as it flew over the southern hemisphere between Australia and Antarctica. Formation flying; Starlink satellites tracing parallel lines in the sky. Thanks to @BabakTafreshi for assembling this clip from timelapse images. — Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) April 11, 2025 Auroras, commonly known as the Northern and Southern Lights, occur when charged particles from the Sun — often released during coronal mass ejections (CMEs) — collide with gases in Earth's upper atmosphere. These collisions excite oxygen and nitrogen molecules, producing glowing lights in green, red, blue, or pink. NASA explains that auroras are most visible near the poles, where the Earth's magnetic field is strongest. From space, these phenomena are not only visible but often more dramatic. Pettit, currently on his fourth mission aboard the ISS, also posted a timelapse of Elon Musk's Starlink satellites moving in formation, and a rare video of upper atmospheric lightning, known as Transient Luminous Events (TLEs), above the Amazon. These brief flashes include exotic phenomena like sprites and blue jets. Earlier this week, Pettit also filmed the station's rotation during a Soyuz docking manoeuvre that brought astronauts Jonny Kim, Sergei Ryzhikov, and Alexei Zubritsky to the ISS for an eight-month mission. The spacecraft's arrival required the ISS to rotate 180 degrees, flying backwards at 17,500mph — allowing for more stunning aurora footage. Widely praised for his visual storytelling from orbit, Pettit has logged over 370 days in space and more than 13 hours of spacewalks. His latest clips, described by fans as 'phenomenal' and 'timelapse gold,' have sparked calls for a documentary compilation of his work. He is expected to return to Earth later this month along with Russian cosmonauts Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner.
The Independent
11-04-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Nasa astronaut releases videos of dazzling green auroras captured from space
Nasa astronaut Don Pettit aboard the International Space Station has unveiled videos of dazzling auroras captured from the orbiting laboratory. One of the videos, which he shared recently on X, shows spectacular green lights glowing below the space station as it flies over the southern hemisphere. 'The aurora seen today from the space station while orbit was passing between Australia and Antartica,' Mr Pettit posted on X earlier this week. Another video he shared on the social media platform this week shows aurora in the form of a 'green vaporous turbulence' above Earth as the ISS flies by. Auroras are caused when bursts of charged particles released from the Sun – known as coronal mass ejections or CMEs – interact with the Earth's magnetic field. The space weather phenomenon is called aurora australis in the southern hemisphere and aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere. Aurora lights may be of different colours depending on different molecules in the atmosphere getting charged by the geomagnetic storm. For instance, oxygen in the form of O₂ gas or as ozone in the upper atmosphere, gives off a fluorescent green hue while nitrogen tends to gives a blue, red, or sometimes pink colour. Since the Earth's magnetic field is the strongest at the poles, auroras are seen more distinctly in the skies near the polar regions. Mr Pettit, 69, is a spaceflight veteran and the oldest astronaut aboard the space station. He has logged over 370 days in space overall and conducted over 13 hours of spacewalk. The Nasa astronaut is known for the variety of photographs he takes from the space station, including of space weather phenomena or onboard science experiments, which he regularly shares on X. On Friday, he shared a timelapse video of Elon Musk's Starlink satellites flying in formation, tracing parallel lines in the sky. Earlier this month, he posted a short six-second video captured straight below the space station of flashes of upper atmospheric lightning. These flashes, called Transient Luminous Events (TLE), reveal a range of lightning phenomenon above the Amazon basin. The clip includes several types of TLE above the South American region, including sprites and blue jets. Mr Pettit is currently on his fourth ISS mission, serving as a flight engineer. He arrived at the ISS in September aboard Russia's Soyuz spacecraft along with two other cosmonauts – Aleksey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. The trio are expected to return to Earth later in April.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Rare colorful lightning caught on camera by ISS astronaut. 'OK, this is kind of out there'
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. NASA astronaut Don Pettit captured breathtaking video of a rare atmospheric phenomenon from his perch high above Earth on the International Space Station. While the International Space Station (ISS) was orbiting above South America, Pettit recorded what are known as Transient Luminous Events, or TLEs. These are bright, colorful flashes of light faster than lightning and are sometimes referred to as "sprites." Pettit was able to view the sprites from directly above, looking down at what is known as the nadir, the point directly below a particular location. "OK, this is kind of out there and caters to your inner Uber-Geek," Pettit posted to X (formerly Twitter along with the video. "Nadir view of Transient Luminous Events (TLE ) or upper atmospheric lightning." The video captures around six seconds of sprites over the Amazon basin. And it's not the first time these phenomena have been caught on camera from the ISS. In 2024, NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick caught a glimpse at one of the most elusive atmospheric phenomena known as red sprites. These occur during particularly powerful thunderstorms and travel upwards into the atmosphere, as opposed to normal lightning which travels downward to the surface of Earth. RELATED STORIES: — Eerie, ultra-detailed photo of a lightning 'sprite' exposes one of nature's least understood phenomena — Red lightning: The electrifying weather phenomenon explained — Sprites from space! Astronaut photographs rare red lightning phenomenon from ISS Sprites like the ones Pettit captured on video occur much higher than regular lightning. Their name is an acronym, short for stratospheric perturbations resulting from intense thunderstorm electrification. Sprites are created when electrical discharges created by lightning shoot upward, creating bursts of plasma in the ionosphere, found around 50 miles (80 km) above Earth's surface. They were not captured on camera until 1989.
