French Astronaut captures aurora lit by a full moon from outer space; Shares pictures

Aurora's are among the most mesmerising phenomena and can captivate the most prosaic of minds. It wasn't surprising, thus, that a series of pictures showing the polar lights, illuminated by a full moon, and captured from above the atmosphere. put netizens in a frenzy.  

The pictures, shared on Instagram, by French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, is now widely surfacing on all social media platforms. Sharing the pictures, the astronaut said, "I don't know why we've seen so many in a few days when I barely saw one during Proxima. However, this one comes with a little something extra." 

Pesquet often shares mesmerising pictures from outer space and enjoys a massive fan following on social media. Sharing the pictures of the aurora, the Astronaut said, "Another round of auroras, surely you're not tired of them yet... are you?" He also explained exactly what an aurora is.

"I don't know why we saw so many in the span of a few days when I barely saw one during my entire first mission, but these last ones came with something extra. As the moon was high and bright, it lit up the clouds from above, which created a distinct atmosphere... and almost turned the aurora blue. What’s next, Mother Nature? A yellow one? A giant rainbow? And no, photo techies, the camera balance was set the same as for previous aurora pictures. An aurora under the full moon, what could be better? " he wrote in his social media caption.

Check out the captivating post below

Since the pictures went online, they have garnered over 1.6 million likes. Netizens were surprised to see the magnificent play of lights. One user exclaimed, "So Great,"  and another commented, "Wow Stars Also Clear in Background Nice Shoot". A third wrote, "Amazing pics".

What is an Aurora?

An aurora is a natural phenomenon, often observed at the earth's magnetic poles. Also known as polar lights, the phenomena are often spotted on skies, in the poles, illuminating the sky in magnificent colours ranging from blue to orange. Researchers have classified them under different categories and names, based on the hemisphere they are spotted from. The auroras appear best at night in outer space.

Notably, the formation of auroras in different hemispheres is caused by the sun, as the star delivers energy and tiny particles that accumulate on the layer of the earth's protective magnetic field. When the particles mix with gases in the atmosphere, magnificent auroras appear in the sky. The green and red light in the aurora are emitted by oxygen, while the blue and purple light are emitted by nitrogen.

(Image: Thomas Pesquet/Instagram)