--- title: "Stunning Footage Shows Space Station Drifting Through Aurora’s Dazzling Lights" description: "A stunning video shared by Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui shows gorgeous auroras blanketing the Earth's night sky." date: "2026-01-21" modified: "2026-01-21" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/space/footage-space-station-auroras-dazzling-lights" categories: - "International Space Station" - "NASA" - "Off-World" - "Space" - "SpaceX" --- # Stunning Footage Shows Space Station Drifting Through Aurora’s Dazzling Lights ![A stunning video shared by Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui shows gorgeous auroras blanketing the Earth's night sky.]() *Kimiya Yui* Earlier this week, the Sun unleashed a powerful X-class solar flare, a major burst of electromagnetically charged particles that lit up the Earth's night sky as they entered our planet's atmosphere. The effect was stunning: a dazzling display of auroras [reaching as far as southern California](). Forecasters [told *CNN*]() that it was one of the largest solar storms in decades, making for a particularly unique opportunity to watch the show unfold. Our art director spotted the cosmic light show in rural Maine, where he said they were "quite beautiful and vibrant." But as one could imagine, the views are even more spectacular above the Earth's atmosphere from the vantage point of the International Space Station, as demonstrated in a [stunning video]() shared by Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui on X earlier this month. The video shows gorgeous hues blanketing the Earth's night sky, dancing high above the surface like a diffused, multicolored glow. Yui was one of the four crew members who were [recently medically evacuated]() from the ISS this week, although it remains unclear which of the astronauts suffered a medical issue. The JAXA astronaut shared the video four days after NASA [first reported]() a "medical concern with a crew member" and five days before [returning to Earth]() on board a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft weeks ahead of schedule. "Knowing that I would soon return, the sun must have tried its best, as I was able to capture a very beautiful aurora," he wrote in the caption in Japanese. "I was happy to have captured it, but above all, imagining everyone smiling with joy upon seeing the footage, I smiled to myself with a laugh." https://twitter.com/Astro_Kimiya/status/2010435323973829069 This latest solar storm, which [reached what's known as G4]() — or "severe" status, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — caused charged particles released by a coronal mass ejection to collide with the Earth's magnetosphere. Auroras, or northern lights, are triggered when these charged particles interact with and ionize the gases in the atmosphere, emitting light in varying colors as a result. While they're dazzling to look at, all of these particle interactions can wreak havoc with satellites and other human-made objects in the Earth's orbit. "We’ve been making all these phone calls to ensure that we are keeping all the critical technological infrastructure operators in the know of what’s happening," Shawn Dahl, a forecaster at the National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center, told *CNN*. As [*Live Science* reports](), it was a particularly powerful geomagnetic storm — but not the strongest one on record. A [May 2024 storm reached G5](), or "extreme," status, the first to do so since an equally ferocious "[Great Halloween solar storm]()" in 2003. While the auroras were [breathtaking](), the 2024 storm was powerful enough to [shut down tractors and other equipment]() in the middle of planting season, as they relied on GPS and other navigation tech that was brought down by the Sun's particles. **More on auroras:** [*Astronomers Stunned as Epic Mars Aurora Covers Entire Planet*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()