NASA Shares Two Of Earth's Most Amazing Sights Captured In One Rare Image
The image that has, as of now garnered over 9 lakh likes has captured two of our planet's most beautiful phenomenons -- the aurora lights and airglow. The phenomenon occurred in March and was captured by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station.
Space is truly breathtaking -- whether it is the planets in our solar system, the galaxies far, far away or supernovas that truly blow our minds.
Our space telescopes often offer beautiful and breathtaking from the farthest regions in the universe, which NASA commonly shares on its Instagram.
NASA
Just last week we saw NASA share the image of Jupiter that looked like a delicious pepperoni pizza. However, today, NASA shared the image of a rather unique phenomenon right from our planet¡¯s atmosphere.
The image that has, as of now garnered over 9 lakh likes has captured two of our planet's most beautiful phenomenons -- the aurora lights and airglow. The phenomenon occurred in March and was captured by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station.
The image was captured as the ISS was passing through the southern region of the Alaskan Peninsula. While showing the breathtaking curve of the planet from the high vantage point, under the aurora and airglow was the region of British Columbia and Alberta, Canada as the early morning sky was entirely covered with a sky full of stars.
Aurora and airglow
Most of you guys would be wondering what¡¯s the difference between aurora lights and airglow, since both of them look awfully identical.
NASA, however, explained this in the post, stating ¡°Though they appear at similar altitudes, aurora and airglow are produced by different physical processes. Airglow is the emission of light from chemical interactions between oxygen, nitrogen, and other molecules in the upper atmosphere. Auroras, on the other hand, stem from interactions between solar energy and Earth¡¯s magnetic field.¡±
Representational Image: Reuters
People travel to icy northern regions in Switzerland or Canada to glance upon the breathtaking aurora lights in all its glory.
However, nothing can truly beat the view and light show from the International Space Station. And until space travel doesn¡¯t get easily accessible for all of us, we¡¯ll have to rely on such picturesque images to awe us.
