Astronomy Picture of the Day - SOFIA's Southern Lights

APOD.NASA.gov ^ | 29 Jul, 2022 | Image Credit & Copyright: Ian Griffin (Otago Museum)

[MtnClimber]

Explanation: SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, is a Boeing 747SP aircraft modified to carry a large reflecting telescope into the stratosphere. The ability of the airborne facility to climb above about 99 percent of Earth's infrared-blocking atmosphere has allowed researchers to observe from almost anywhere over the planet. On a science mission flying deep into the southern auroral oval, astronomer Ian Griffin, director of New Zealand’s Otago Museum, captured this view from the observatory's south facing starboard side on July 17. Bright star Canopus shines in the southern night above curtains of aurora australis, or southern lights. The plane was flying far south of New Zealand at the time at roughly 62 degrees southern latitude. Unfortunately, after a landing at Christchurch severe weather damaged SOFIA requiring repairs and the cancellation of the remainder of its final southern hemisphere deployment.

[MtnClimber]

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For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.

[MtnClimber]

[MtnClimber]

Pinging the APOD list.

🪐 🌟 🌌 🍔

[mylife]

i worked on that

[dainbramaged]

We lived in Alaska for 25 years and truly miss the northern lights - or in this case, the southern lights but they still look the same. Mostly green, but sometimes red.

[BenLurkin]

bttt

[MtnClimber]

Cool.

[mylife]

waco tx

[MonicaG]

I’ve never seen them; on my bucket list!

[know.your.why]

wow. something outside of my tiny apartment.

[BBB333]

Hot?

[sasquatch]

How are the optics/mount stabilized?

[mylife]

https://www.sofia.usra.edu/about-sofia/sofia-overview

[sasquatch]

Thanks for the link. I flew into Christchurch many years back. Probably the roughest landing I’ve experienced including some when I was in the left seat!