Astronaut Captures Dazzling Aurora Dancing Above Earth
ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot (@soph_astro) was recently treated to incredible, dazzling aurora displays in space while aboard the International Space Station (ISS). While Adenot and the ESA shared photos last month, Adenot just shared an incredible video of auroras from space on social media today.
A week ago, Adenot posted a series of eight images of an aurora on day 127 of her first space flight, which began in February 2026. Adenot, who remains in space today, has been up there for nearly 137 days.
“Day 127, orbit 1968 — That aurora was absolutely spectacular… shimmering and dancing beneath us, stretching as far as the eye could see, and so intense it lit up the Station in shades of green,” Adenot wrote on Instagram.
The 43-year-old Adenot, who will celebrate her 44th birthday on Sunday aboard the ISS, has had an illustrious career in the military and space exploration. Adenot joined the French Air and Space Force in 2005 and achieved the rank of Colonel. She was selected for the European Astronaut Corps in 2022.
Today, Adenot shared her timelapse video of what she describes as “the most spectacular aurora of the εpsilon mission so far!”
“Watching this glowing green ribbon shimmer and dance, it’s easy to lose yourself completely in the magic of the moment,” the astronaut explains.
Earlier this year, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov shared spectacular footage of an aurora as seen from the ISS. Astronaut Zena Cardman shared a lovely video of auroras from space late last year. And, of course, who could forget veteran astronaut and exceptional photographer Don Pettit’s aurora videos captured aboard the ISS last year?
Auroras look incredible from Earth, of course, but it’s hard to beat the magic of an aurora seen from space.
Auroras are not the only spectacular sight Adenot has captured using timelapse photography techniques aboard the ISS. As the ESA explains, Adenot captured a timelapse of Earth at night during the Lyrids meteor shower in mid-May.
The incredible video shows meteors, auroras, thunderstorms, and more.
Image credits: ESA/NASA — S. Adenot
