NASA astronaut Anil Menon photographed pink, purple and red auroras from the International Space Station on 10 October using an iPhone. The lights followed geomagnetic storms after several coronal mass ejections hit Earth's magnetic field.
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01Summary
- 01NASA astronaut Anil Menon took the image on 10 October from the International Space Station.
- 02The photo shows pink, purple and red auroras over the night side of Earth, with blurred city lights below.
- 03Menon said in a separate video posted to X that flying through the display was "rare and amazing".
- 04The auroras came after several coronal mass ejections triggered geomagnetic storms ranging from G1 to G3 over the weekend.
- 05The colours are linked to nitrogen at about 60-120 miles and oxygen above about 125 miles in Earth's atmosphere.
02Why it matters
The image shows a strong geomagnetic event affecting Earth's skies and highlights how astronauts can document it from orbit. It also underlines the growing use of iPhones for space photography.
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