NASA Unveils Greatest Views Of The Aurorae Ever
From Space, in HD.
“You cannot rob me of free nature’s grace,
You cannot shut the windows of the sky
Through which Aurora shows her brightening face.” -James Thomson
Ever since humanity first broke the chains of gravity and left Earth’s atmosphere, we’ve been able to see our planet for what it actually is: a blue marble floating in the abyss of space. The oceans give our world its primary color, along with the whites from the clouds and ice-covered regions, the lush greens of the tree-covered continents and the browns of the arid, dry desert lands. But when we look at the Earth at night, there’s no reflected sunlight illuminating those common sights, and so the more subtle signals coming from city lights, lightning strikes and atmospheric effects are visible. When the circumstances are just right, most prominent and spectacular of all are the sights of the aurorae.
Aurorae are usually green in color, originating in the upper layers of the Earth’s atmosphere, 50, 100, or even 200 or more kilometers above our planet’s surface. They come down…
