Aurora Borealis captured in timelapse video from International Space Station during northern lights display

Breathtaking footage shows what the northern lights looks like from space. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick shared a timelapse, taken from the International Space Station, which captures the moon setting into the aurora during the solar storm on Aug 12, 2024.

In the video (click to play above) streams of green light appear to wave along the right side of the screen, opposite of a glowing pink area. Then, a vibrant red veil of light seems to grow over the green streams. As the video goes on, even more green streams appear before fading into the distance.

The video ends after the spacecraft is suddenly bathed in a blue light, which Dominick said was the sunrise.

Aurora Borealis lit up UK skies

Sky-watchers across the UK were treated to a night of meteors and aurora on Monday (12 Aug). There were sightings of the Perseid meteor shower, which stems from the stream of debris associated with the comet Swift–Tuttle.

An aurora is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions around the Arctic and Antarctic. Auroras display dynamic patterns of brilliant lights that appear as curtains, rays, spirals, or dynamic flickers covering the entire sky. They are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by the solar wind.