Aurora Austrailis taken during Expedition Six

ISS006-E-028961 (16 Feb. 2003) --- The Expedition Six crew enjoyed this green aurora dancing over the night side of the Earth just after sunset on February 16, 2003. The reds and blues of sunset light up the air layer to the west. The image was recorded with a 58 mm lens on a digital still camera. Because auroras follow Earth's magnetic field, they are observed at Earth's poles when the oxygen and nitrogen atoms start to glow when bombarded by charged particles coming from the sun. In a sense, auroras are the "neon lights" of the poles.