Aurora Australis
April 19, 2011
With Discovery's tail is in the foreground, the aurora australis, or southern lights, blaze over Earth's horizon in this photo from the STS-85 mission in 1997.
Auroras occur near the north and south poles when charged particles from the sun interact with Earth's magnetic field.
Auroras occur near the north and south poles when charged particles from the sun interact with Earth's magnetic field.
Topics:
Environment, Space plasmas, Astronomy, Physics, STS-85 Mission, Geomagnetic storm, Sun, Earth's magnetic field, Magnetic field, Electromagnetism, Electrical phenomena, Aurora, Planetary science, Plasma physics
