Looks like Mother Earth is putting her best face forward for Earth Day with some spectacular Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights! I couldn’t look away from the Space Station cupola window as I witnessed this magnificent Earthly phenomenon dance its magical ballet. Covering a majority of the area I could see, our precious blue gem had turned completely green! Mother Earth is undeniably gorgeous, but she is also utterly fragile. Let’s remember to treat her as well as she has treated us.

I never saw anything near this scale during my previous mission here on the ISS. That’s because we are currently near a strong peak of the solar cycle, while my first mission coincided with solar minimum.