The French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, belonging to the European Space Agency (ESA) upon his arrival from the Crew-2 mission on the International Space Station (ISS), where it lasted six months, published through his Twitter account a photograph of the brightest northern lights seen during his journey back to Earth.
The image was captured while the crew was flying over North America and Canada. In it, you can see a water-green ring illuminated by blue and purple sparkles, which unleashed the amazement of fans of the mysteries of the cosmos.
On November 6, the astronaut posted on his official network: “We were presented with the strongest auroras of the entire mission, over North America and Canada. Incredible peaks higher than our orbit, and we flew just above the center of the ring, fast waves and pulses everywhere. “
How auroras occur?
This phenomenon is frequently observed near the North and South Poles, and usually shows flashes in the sky. Although this effect only occurs at night, in reality the Sun’s energy is the cause of its manifestation, since its particles are sent to Earth. There, the protective magnetic field of our planet prevents solar storms from throwing a bubble of electrified gas that travels towards the two poles. These particles interact with gases in the atmosphere, generating lights in the sky. Oxygen turns the sky green and red, while nitrogen glows blue and purple.
The engineer, also an engineer, published other moments during his journey in space on the “Flick” website and more photographs can be seen from the gaze of his camera.
JM
