Let your light shine. 💅 A brilliant stream of the southern lights or aurora australis is captured in this photograph from the International Space Station (ISS) as it orbited 270 miles (434 km) above the Indian Ocean near Antarctica. The vibrant displays of light around Earth’s North and South Poles are caused by the interaction of solar particles, ejected by the Sun, and our planet’s protective magnetic field. Most of the time these interactions are relatively limited and go unnoticed by us on Earth. However, during large solar storms, called coronal mass ejections, the Sun spews large bubbles of electrified gas which collide with our magnetic field at its North and South Poles and enter our atmosphere. Once in the atmosphere, these energized solar particles collide with atmospheric gases resulting in beautiful displays of light. When solar particles collide with atmospheric oxygen they give off rich red and green hues as seen in this image. Conversely, if these same particles co...