ISS crew spots green aurora over the Indian Ocean
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station witnessed this unique and beautiful aurora australis over the southern Indian Ocean last month. Auroras occur when energetic ions from the sun collide with oxygen and nitrogen in the upper atmosphere, exciting these particles to an energy state where they emit light. The aurora borealis occurs near the north pole, while the aurora australis occurs near the south pole. This aurora is unique because it was relatively far from the southern pole. The green aurora probably occurred due to the large energy ejection from the sun on May 24.
Via: NASA, PopSci
