U.S. Astronaut Chris Williams Watches Storm Aurora | International Space Station

U.S. Astronaut Chris Williams Watches Storm Aurora | International Space Station

Expedition 74 Station Commander and Cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov: "Expedition 74 Flight Engineer and my partner, Chris Williams, admires the incredibly bright aurora borealis from the ISS Cupola module. We knew there had been a powerful solar flare and a stream of particles was flying toward our planet. The aurora borealis promised to be especially bright, so we prepared for nighttime photography. But no one expected it to be so bright! The aurora lights were already visible against the sunset! The sunlight was enough to illuminate his face. Chris was taking photos by the window when I asked him to pause for a second, and . . . snapped a couple of shots . . .🌌"

This image was recorded during one of the most powerful solar storms in over 20 years, according to the United States National Weather Service's Space Weather Prediction Center. The last solar radiation storm of comparable severity was recorded in October 2003.

NASA astronaut Christopher Williams Biography

https://www.nasa.gov/people/nasa-astronaut-christopher-l-williams/

Follow Expedition 74:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew

Station Commander: Sergey-Kud Sverchkov (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineer: Sergei Mikaev

NASA Flight Engineer: Chris Williams

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Image Credit: Roscosmos/S. Kud Sverchkov

Date: Jan. 20, 2026

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