APOD: 2026 May 16 – Aurora Slathers Up the Sky
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2026 May 16
Aurora Slathers Up the Sky
Image Credit:
Jack Fischer,
Expedition 52,
NASA
Explanation:
Like salsa verde on your favorite burrito, a green
aurora
slathers up the sky in this 2017 June 25 snapshot from the
International Space Station.
About 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earth, the orbiting station is itself
within the upper realm
of the auroral displays.
Aurorae have the
signature colors of excited molecules and atoms at the low densities found at extreme altitudes.
Emission from atomic oxygen dominates this view.
The tantalizing glow
is green at lower altitudes, but rarer reddish
bands extend above the space station’s horizon.
The orbital scene
was captured while passing over a point
south and east of Australia, with
stars above the horizon at the right belonging to
the constellation
Canis Major,
Orion’s big dog.
Sirius,
alpha star of Canis Major, is the brightest star near
the Earth’s limb.
Tomorrow’s picture: spiral barred
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Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn
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