NASA astronaut captures stunning Southern Lights display from space

A NASA astronaut has shared a breathtaking view of the aurora australis, or Southern Lights, as seen from space.

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir gave her Instagram followers a glimpse of the phenomenon through a timelapse video filmed aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

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A post shared by Jessica Meir (@astro_jessica)

“As opposed to the previous aurora I’ve seen, this one danced and snaked its way directly below us, putting on quite a show. I am in awe of this ethereal and emotionally evocative phenomenon,” she wrote.

Meir said the dazzling light display was triggered by a recent solar event.

According to Kuya Kim's report on "24 Oras" on Wednesday, the auroras are formed when charged particles from the Sun collide with the Earth's atmosphere. Electrons and protons carried by the solar wind travel millions of miles through space before interacting with the planet’s magnetic field.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the phenomenon is known as the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, while its counterpart in the Southern Hemisphere is called the aurora australis, or Southern Lights. —VBL, GMA News