NASA Astronaut Captures Breathtaking Southern Lights Dancing Below the Space Station
Finn's Take· TL;DR- Astronaut Jessica Meir captured rare footage of the southern lights dancing directly beneath the ISS while sheltering in a Dragon capsule during a Russian module leak repair.
- The aurora australis is notoriously difficult to see from Earth due to Antarctica's remote location, making Meir's orbital perspective from 271 miles above the Indian Ocean exceptionally rare.
- Southern lights occur when solar activity sends charged particles toward Earth, disrupting the magnetic field and creating colorful atmospheric displays in polar regions.
An Unexpected Front-Row Seat to the Southern Lights
Most people who dream of seeing the aurora australis spend years planning remote expeditions to the southern tip of South America or the wilds of Tasmania. NASA astronaut Jessica Meir didn't have to go anywhere — the southern lights came to her. On June 5, Meir found herself with one of the most extraordinary views of the phenomenon ever recorded: looking straight down at a swirling, snake-like aurora dancing directly beneath the International Space Station.
Meir captured the breathtaking view while sheltering with her fellow astronauts in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, where the Crew-12 team took refuge as a precaution while cosmonauts attempted to fix a leak in a tunnel leading to a Russian module. It was an unusual and stressful situation — but Meir made the most of it. She captured truly incredible images and even video of the auroras over Earth from the Dragon capsule.
A Show Unlike Anything She Had Seen Before
Meir later wrote on social media: "As opposed to the previous aurora[s] I've seen, this one danced and snaked its way directly below us, putting on quite a show." She shared a timelapse of the spectacle on June 7, giving the world a glimpse of what it looks like to watch Earth's light show from above rather than below.
Meir snapped swirling greens and reds 271 miles above the Indian Ocean. NASA shared the stunning photograph on June 16, though Meir originally captured it on June 5 as the ISS passed south of Perth, Australia. The photograph blends the arch of the lights with the curve of the Earth and swirling clouds. For those on the ground that night, the view was largely blocked — cloud cover obstructed the views of the night sky phenomenon from Earth below, making Meir's orbital vantage point all the more rare and remarkable.
What Causes the Southern Lights — and Why They're So Hard to See
The southern lights happen when the sun sends large amounts of charged particles toward Earth during events like solar flares and coronal mass ejections. The sun always emits these particles in what's called solar wind, but sometimes ramps up its output. During heightened solar activity, the charged particles disrupt Earth's magnetic field, causing a magnetic storm — and igniting those ghostly ribbons of color in the upper atmosphere.
While the northern lights are a famous tourist attraction, the aurora australis remains one of the world's most elusive light shows. This is due to geography — the southern aurora is centered over the vast, uninhabited continent of Antarctica and the surrounding oceans, and unlike the Northern Hemisphere, there are very few accessible landmasses within the prime viewing zone. The most reliable viewing spots include Stewart Island in New Zealand, Tasmania in Australia, and the southern tip of South America — but even from these prime locations, the aurora often appears as a faint glow on the horizon, and unpredictable weather can spoil the view.
A Mission Full of Firsts and Challenges
Meir and three other astronauts of the SpaceX Crew-12 mission arrived at the ISS in February for an eight-month mission to conduct experiments aimed at benefitting humans on Earth and advancing research for future moon and Mars missions. The Crew-12 astronauts were told to shelter in the capsule as cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev attempted to fix an ongoing leak on the station. The leak has been a persistent, ongoing issue caused by cracks in the PrK transfer tunnel which connects to the Russian Zvezda service module.
What could have been a tense, anxious wait in a cramped capsule became something else entirely. Meir is scheduled to remain at the ISS as spacecraft commander through September 2026, meaning she'll have more opportunities to photograph Earth from above — but it's hard to imagine topping a moment like this one. The June 5 aurora served as a vivid reminder that even in the middle of a mechanical crisis, the universe has a way of offering something extraordinary to those paying attention.