Breathtaking Aurora Captured by NASA Astronaut: A Cosmic Spectacle You Can’t Miss!

NASA astronaut Don Pettit has shared a stunning view of Aurora captured from outer space. Currently serving as a flight engineer and a member of the Expedition 72 crew, Pettit showcased an awe-inspiring perspective of the Aurora from the International Space Station (ISS).
Pettit posted the video on Twitter, captioning it, “Flying over aurora; intensely green.”
You can view the video here.

In a short period, the video attracted the interest of social media users. Posted on January 6 at 12:01 PM, it has accumulated more than 130.4K views.
Captivated by the splendid beauty of Aurora from the space station, one X user remarked, “seeing fireworks from above is nice but seeing the aurora from above is out of this world.”
Another netizen noted, “Color indicates intensity levels of energy waves from space, shielded by Earth’s magnetosphere—what a stunning display of light in the sky.”
“The aurora’s green illumination appears surreal from above. Pure magic!” expressed one user. Another added, “It’s beautiful. Thank you for sharing this.”
An X user commented, “Wild. Thank you for sharing with us on the other side.”
Another wrote, “Wow, it’s so enchanting.”
One comment stated, “Definitely one of the most extraordinary sights to behold. Nature is astounding!”
One X user said, “I’ve never seen them from that side! So incredible.”
Another remarked, “Pettit continues to deliver the finest ISS content.”
An X user inquired, “If you close your eyes while traversing areas like this, can you perceive an increase in the occurrence of “scintillations” or apparent flashes of light caused by high-energy protons activating the retina directly?”
“Wow, absolutely astonishing! Thank you for sharing! I hope to connect with you on my Ham Radio one day while you are orbiting Earth in the International Space Station. 73’s,” wrote another user.

American astronaut and chemical engineer Donald R. Pettit is fulfilling his role as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 72 crew aboard the orbiting laboratory, where he will engage in approximately six months of scientific research and maintenance of the space station. He is joined by Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner. He arrived at the ISS aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft in September, 2024.
What is an aurora?
An aurora is a natural luminescent display in the sky, visible in high-latitude regions close to the Arctic and Antarctic. This occurrence arises when charged particles from the Sun, carried by the solar wind, interact with Earth’s magnetic field and collide with atmospheric gases. This interaction creates vivid colors such as green, purple, red, and blue lighting up the night sky.
(Pic credit: Screen grab from Don Pettit/ X)