Astronaut captures incredible photos of blue Aurora Australis from space

Other than being an astronaut and the first French commander of the International Space Station, Thomas Pesquet is a darn good photographer, too. Photos from space are remarkable on their own, but Thomas has been happy to capture some… well, even more remarkable sights. And this time, it’s blue Aurora Australis or the southern lights. Definitely not something you see every day.

Une aurore polaire bleue ? ! Je me demande ce que Mère Nature nous réserve pour la suite : une aurore boréale ? ou ? vif ? Un immense ? ?
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A blue aurora! What's next Mother Nature? A giant rainbow?? There are no complaints from me ? #MissionAlphahttps://t.co/BpJDnaFckx pic.twitter.com/DnWxMRw6JP

— Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) August 26, 2021

This is the second ISS mission for Thomas. On his Facebook and Instagram, he wrote that he saw many auroras over the span of few days. Interestingly enough, he almost saw none during his entire first mission. “But these last ones came with something extra,” he writes. “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.” He notes that the settings were exactly the same as they were for his previous aurora photos. So, the white balance is correct, there’s no Photoshop… Just a nice glowing blue gift from Mother Nature.

I follow Thomas on Instagram and enjoy seeing his images, but also his captions which are often filled with useful information, and some humor. “What’s next, Mother Nature? A yellow one? A giant rainbow?” he jokingly wonders in the post. I don’t know, but whatever it is, I’m sure he’ll capture it and share it with us, and I’m always looking forward to it.

[via DPReview]