NASA has released a jaw-dropping new compilation of Earth’s auroras viewed from the International Space Station. It’s available in up to 4K resolution, and I heartily recommend watching it fullscreen at the highest resolution you can comfortably manage. (To paraphrase: this is ultra high definition – it’s better resolution than real life!) I don’t think I’ve ever seen aurora footage that so clearly showed the fluid behavior of auroras when viewed from space. This flow-like quality is to be expected since the auroras occur due to ionized particles from the solar wind exciting atoms in our upper atmosphere in a magnetohydrodynamic dance that never gets too old to watch. (Video credit: NASA; via Gizmodo)
Boston area FYFDers: I’m giving a talk at Harvard tomorrow afternoon on science communication – Wed. April 20th, 4pm, Maxwell Dworkin, G115.