Solar Panels with Aurora, Stars & Zodiacal Light | International Space Station

Solar Panels with Aurora, Stars & Zodiacal Light | International Space Station

Expedition 74 flight engineer and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kim Yui just celebrated 300 cumulative days in space: "As a token of gratitude for allowing me to have such a precious experience over 300 days, I'd like to introduce a slightly unusual time-lapse from the window."

"The zodiacal light right after sunset and the aurora from the middle onward are beautiful too, but the movement of the solar panels is somehow so sci-fi."

"If you like stars, try spotting constellations like Aquarius, Pegasus, Andromeda, and the Pleiades too!"

What's that strangely diffused white light? 

Dust orbiting the Sun. At certain times of the year, a band of sun-reflecting dust from the inner Solar System appears prominently just after sunset—or just before sunrise—and is called zodiacal light. Although the origin of this dust is still being researched, a leading hypothesis holds that zodiacal dust originates mostly from faint Jupiter-family comets and that it slowly spirals into the Sun.

Follow Expedition 74:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew

Station Commander: Mike Fincke (NASA)

JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui

Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Oleg Platonov, Sergey-Kud Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev

NASA Flight Engineers: Zena Cardman, Chris Williams

Video Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center

Duration: 28 seconds

Release Date: Jan. 6, 2025

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