Photo credit: Joe Acaba

The image above was captured by astronaut Joe Acaba of the Expedition 32 crew onboard the International Space Station. He was flying at an altitude of approximately 240-miles, recorded a series of images of Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, on July 15. Continue reading for more.

5. Northern Lights Time-Lapse

The diffuse aurora is a featureless glow in the sky that may not be visible to the naked eye, even on a dark night. It defines the extent of the auroral zone. The discrete aurorae are sharply defined features within the diffuse aurora that vary in brightness from just barely visible to the naked eye, to bright enough to read a newspaper by at night.

4. Space

Discrete aurorae are usually seen only in the night sky, because they are not as bright as the sunlit sky. Aurorae occasionally occur poleward of the auroral zone as diffuse patches or arcs, which are generally invisible to the naked eye.

3. Finland


2. Fisheye

Its southern counterpart, the aurora australis (or the southern lights), has almost identical features to the aurora borealis and changes simultaneously with changes in the northern auroral zone and is visible from high southern latitudes in Antarctica, South America, New Zealand, and Australia.

1. Norway

Aurorae occur on other planets. Similar to the Earth’s aurora, they are visible close to the planet’s magnetic poles. Modern style guides recommend that the names of meteorological phenomena, such as aurora borealis, be uncapitalized.