Astronaut Captures Stunning Images of the Southern Lights; An Unusual Appearance Under the Full Moon

Thomas Pesquet, a 43-year-old astronaut and aerospace engineer, is presently on the International Space Station, and there, he was able to capture images of Aurora Australis under the full moon.

Specifically, a Mail Online report specified that the French astronaut could take photos of the southern lights with an unusual bluish hue under the moon's light.

Describing the moon, Pesquet said the moon was high and extremely bright. It lights the clouds that create quite a special atmosphere. The said images are undoubtedly exceptional.

The aurora, which is usually green, tinged with purple or red, looked to have an unusual bluish hue, which only occurs under certain circumstances.

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High and Bright Moon

In a Facebook post, the Astronaut for the European Space Agency explained that the moon captures were high and very bright. As earlier mentioned, it lights the clouds creating quite a very special atmosphere, making the aurora polar, nearly blue.

In addition, the aerospace engineer admitted he had witnessed various auroras during this present mission, Alpha, which, according to an ESA report, was launched in April this year.

Nevertheless, Pesquet confirmed this specific view appeared with something extra brought by the glow of the moon.

He also said, "an aurora under the fool moon, what could be better?" Auroras appear when electrically charged sun particles get into the atmosphere of this planet and collide with nitrogen and oxygen particles.

'Aurora Australis'

This natural phenomenon takes place at the south and north poles which means, people located in extremely high or very low latitudes have better chances of seeing one.

Northern auroras, frequently called the "Northern Lights," are also known as Aurora Borealis, which means "dawn of the north."

Meanwhile, Southern Lights are also known as Aurora Australis, from the Latin word means southern, which incidentally is how Australia got its name.

These Southern Lights are ideally observed from Antarctica, Tasmania, as well as the southern mainland coastline.

'Perch in Space'

This is not the first time Pesquet has delivered striking images from the ISS. Earlier this year, he shared spectacular photos of Uluru, Australia, from his so-called "perch in space."

He is one of the astronauts presently undertaking a study in the space station, a science and engineering laboratory worth $100 billion, orbiting 400 kilometers above this planet.

Essentially, the ISS has been staffed permanently by rotating crews of astronauts and cosmonauts since late 2000.

This is the second stint of Pesquet in the ISS. In late 2016, the French astronaut launched into space for his six-month Proxima mission as Expeditions 50 and 51's flight engineer.

Another Space Mission

Pesquet is not the only astronaut with a space mission worth showcasing. Incidentally, two ISS crew members have had their stay onboard the orbiting lab extended to almost one year, SpaceRef Network reported.

With plans for participants of the Russian spaceflight to visit the space station, Mark Vande Hei, a NASA astronaut, and Pyotr Dubrov, a Roscosmos cosmonaut, will stay aboard the station until March next year.

Upon return to this planet, this report specified, Vande Hei is set to hold the record "for the longest single spaceflight for an American."

A possible benefit to this extension is NASA getting deeper insight into how the human body adapts to life in microgravity for longer periods.

The study is helping prepare for Artemis missions to the Moon and, ultimately, long-duration missions to the Red Planet, providing crucial opportunities for additional study to be carried out on board the station that can be advantageous to live on this planet.

Related information about the southern lights captured from space is shown on Ashif Hassan's YouTube video below: