APOD: Aurora Australis and the ISS (2024 Sep 13)

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APOD Robot
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APOD: Aurora Australis and the ISS (2024 Sep 13)

Post by APOD Robot » Fri Sep 13, 2024 4:06 am

Image Aurora Australis and the International Space Station

Explanation: This snapshot from the International Space Station was taken on August 11 while orbiting about 430 kilometers above the Indian Ocean, Southern Hemisphere, planet Earth. The spectacular view looks south and east, down toward the planet's horizon and through red and green curtains of aurora australis. The auroral glow is caused by emission from excited oxygen atoms in the extremely rarefied upper atmosphere still present at the level of the orbiting outpost. Green emission from atomic oxygen dominates this scene at altitudes of 100 to 250 kilometers, while red emission from atomic oxygen can extend as high as 500 kilometers altitude. Beyond the glow of these southern lights, this view from low Earth orbit reveals the starry sky from a southern hemisphere perspective. Stars in Orion's belt and the Orion Nebula are near the Earth's limb just left of center. Sirius, alpha star of Canis Major and brightest star in planet Earth's night is above center along the right edge of the southern orbital skyscape.

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johnnydeep
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Re: APOD: Aurora Australis and the ISS (2024 Sep 13)

Post by johnnydeep » Fri Sep 13, 2024 6:33 pm

The auroral glow is caused by emission from excited oxygen atoms in the extremely rarefied upper atmosphere still present at the level of the orbiting outpost.
So, the ISS is actually embedded within the aurora I suppose, in addition to being able to see it while looking through a long enough column of auroral air?
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VictorBorun
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Re: APOD: Aurora Australis and the ISS (2024 Sep 13)

Post by VictorBorun » Mon Sep 23, 2024 10:05 pm

johnnydeep wrote: Fri Sep 13, 2024 6:33 pm
The auroral glow is caused by emission from excited oxygen atoms in the extremely rarefied upper atmosphere still present at the level of the orbiting outpost.
So, the ISS is actually embedded within the aurora I suppose, in addition to being able to see it while looking through a long enough column of auroral air?
in the upper zone of red atomic oxigen, yes