TRENDING

ISS commander Terry Virts records ‘di-Vine’ glimpse of northern lights

19 Mar 2015

With less than two weeks before the arrival of the year-long crew at the International Space Station (ISS), ISS commander Terry Virts has released a Vine showing the incredible aurora borealis.

The skies above the northern and southern hemispheres have been treated to a series of celestial shows in the past week with the most recent example happening on St Patrick’s Day in Australia where the Australian Bureau of Meteorology recorded one of the strongest auroras in recent years caused by electrically charged protons and neutrons reacting with the Earth’s magnetic fields.

However, yesterday, similar scenes were seen above the northern hemisphere. Virts, from aboard the ISS, captured the sights as a Vine video which has since gone viral.

Thankfully, the view wasn’t limited to just those orbiting our planet. Those living close to the Arctic Circle and as far south as the northern region of Donegal in Ireland were also able to see the light show.

There will certainly be plenty of opportunities for ISS astronauts and cosmonauts to take Vines and photos of the wonders of the Earth from 29 March as the station welcomes its first-ever year-long crew, a first for US space agency NASA astronauts.

 

 

 

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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