The images Astronauts Scott Kelly and Tim Peake post on their Twitter/Facebook accounts continue to amaze us as this new image of the Northern Lights is just breathtaking.
On board the International Space Station, both men were in awe of the sight.
"Aurora brought her fresh colors over Earth today. Stunning! #YearInSpace" Kelly stated.
"Today we flew straight past the aurora – breathtaking" Was how Tim Peake described it.
So why does this occur? According to NASA, The northern lights are caused by collisions between fast-moving particles (electrons) from space and the oxygen and nitrogen gas in our atmosphere. These electrons originate in the magnetosphere, the region of space controlled by Earth's magnetic field. As they rain into the atmosphere, the electrons impart energy to oxygen and nitrogen molecules, making them excited. When the molecules return to their normal state, they release photons, small bursts of energy in the form of light.
