Auroras, not eclipses, are the best cosmic show from orbit, two NASA astronauts said Wednesday. The sun's active cycle makes the northern and southern lights more dramatic from the space station.
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Two NASA astronauts living aboard the International Space Station said Wednesday that while last week's solar eclipse was impressive, the real show in orbit is the northern and southern lights.
Commander Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway spoke with The Associated Press about their six-month mission. The space station's path kept them from seeing totality during the April 8 eclipse, though they caught a partial view. They plan to watch next week's lunar eclipse as well.
"We're hoping for the best. It should be pretty awesome," Hathaway said.
Meir said auroras are the most spectacular cosmic displays from orbit. The sun is near the peak of its 11-year activity cycle, which has made the northern and southern lights more vivid, she explained.
After one large blast of plasma from the sun, "the green dancing aurora" appeared directly beneath the station rather than near the poles, she said.
"It looked like a snake making its way right beneath us and that was a really extraordinary one," Meir said. "You could see the green light bouncing off the white outside exterior of the space station."
Meir, a marine biologist, and Hathaway, a Navy captain, launched in February and are due to return to Earth via SpaceX after their replacements arrive next month. The current crew includes three Americans, three Russians and one French astronaut.
Meir has also been cooking in orbit, wearing a space-cat apron while sampling mustard greens and kale grown on the station. She joined crewmate Anil Menon, who wore a chef's toque, for the first episode of his cooking show "Chez ISS" this week.
Menon packed the apron and toque when he arrived last month in a Russian capsule. Meir brought a piccolo and performed "The Stars and Stripes Forever" with the Boston Pops on July 4, with her part prerecorded in space.
Hathaway said he never gets bored on the station. Weekend karaoke nights feature a guitar and other instruments. "There's always something to do," he said.
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