Aurora Time-Laps from the ISS

This gorgeous view of the aurora was taken from the International Space Station as it crossed over the southern Indian Ocean on September 17, 2011. The time-laps made from still images spans the time period from 12:22 to 12:45 PM ET.

While aurora are often seen near the poles, this aurora appeared at lower latitudes due to a geomagnetic storm – the insertion of energy into Earth's magnetic environment called the magnetosphere – caused by a coronal mass ejection from the sun that erupted on September 14. The storm was a moderate one, rated with what's called a KP index of 6 on a scale that goes from 0 to 9, caused by just a glancing blow from the CME. As particles from the incoming CME moved into the magnetosphere they traveled around to the back side -- or night side, since it is on the opposite side from the sun -- of Earth and then funneled down onto Earth's poles and even lower. As the particles bombarded oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere, the atoms released a photon of light that we see as the beautiful colors of the aurora.
Credit: NASA

via flickr.com