NASA astronaut's photo of auroras from space is nothing like anything you have seen before

Washington

The auroras have been dazzling in the night sky and people have been flocking to catch a glimpse of the northern lights. While people on Earth flock to different locations to catch the best view of the aurora borealis, an astronaut probably caught the most exclusive show of the aurora yet. NASA astronaut Josh Cassada got lucky when he witnessed a magnificent show put on by the aurora borealis. He clicked a beautiful shot of the northern lights from the International Space Station (ISS), stationed around 250 miles (400 kilometres) above Earth.

"Absolutely unreal," Cassada wrote alongside the photo he posted on Twitter.

Cassada has been at the ISS since last October, along with Nicole Mann, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and cosmonaut Anna Kikina.

What are auroras?

Auroras happened when charged solar particles come in contact with molecules in Earth's atmosphere. A powerful solar wind has been blowing from the sun, causing the auroras to occur and put on a light show like no other. This time, due to a specific activity, the aurora has spread to places it isn't normally seen in. According to Space.com, a hole in the sun's corona increased the power of the solar wind, resulting in huge clouds of solar plasma speeding into space by coronal mass ejections. The charged particles slammed into Earth, increasing the intensity of the auroral fire. 

Where to see aurora borealis?

While quaint little towns in Norway, Finland and Sweden are mostly where people can see the best view of the aurora borealis from, the northern lights this time dazzled people in the UK as well. 

People in the UK shared pictures of the aurora from Scotland, northern Wales, Ireland and southern England. The sighting was even reported from the iconic Stonehenge monument.