Astronaut Captures Vibrant Green Aurora From Space
American astronaut and chemical engineer Don Pettit is celebrated for his orbital astrophotography created during long-duration stays aboard the International Space Station. His latest footage shows beautiful views of the Northern Lights from space.
At 68 years old, Pettit is NASA’s oldest active astronaut and a seasoned vet. As of writing, he has spent over 576 days in space. Currently aboard the International Space Station (ISS), Pettit was recently treated to beautiful auroras while the ISS orbited above Australia and Antarctica. Pettit has been shooting auroras from space since 2012!
The first video clip shows the Earth’s curvature as the aurora dances beneath the station. At first, it is mostly green, but the aurora’s intensity quickly increases to include beautiful pinks and purples.
Aurora seen today from @Space_Station while orbit was passing between Australia and Antartrica; photographer @astro_jannicke now on the private FRAM2 space mission will be having an even better view in their polar orbit. pic.twitter.com/8IIiWBDtu8
— Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) April 4, 2025
The second video appears to be filmed straight down towards the Earth’s surface, with Pettit describing the footage as showing “green vaporous turbulence” from the aurora.
Green vaporous turbulence; tonight’s show of aurora from @Space_Station pic.twitter.com/ZX0dINFhLa
— Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) April 5, 2025
Pettit shared that fellow astronaut and FRAM2 Vehicle Commander Jannicke Mikkelsen may even have additional footage of her own to share soon. She was aboard the private FRAM2 Space Mission, taking the first human spaceflight over Earth’s polar regions while that aurora was taking place.
Proud to be able to bring to space some incredible cameras and lenses capturing the first images of the Arctic and Antarctic shot by humans from space. These videos are BIG in file size and we look forwards to sharing them with you post-mission splashdown. #fram2 pic.twitter.com/VqMuA1bI5x
— Jannicke Mikkelsen (@astro_jannicke) April 4, 2025
The Sun is very active right now, and since returning to space last fall, Pettit has seen some beautiful auroras from the ISS. In November, Pettit photographed a long-exposure photo of auroras above North America, with city lights streaming beneath him. He then rang in the New Year with even more amazing images of brilliant auroras.
Image credits: Don Pettit
