A Russian cosmonaut has captured dazzling aurora lights from onboard the International Space Station — as a large coronal mass ejection (CME) supercharged auroras around the globe this week.
Sergey Kud-Sverchkov captured the above footage showing a wall of red and green light towering over the Earth’s surface, ebbing and flowing like a great sea.
It’s not clear exactly where the ISS was over Earth when Kud-Sverchkov filmed the footage, but a network of city lights permeates the ground some 250 miles below.
A CME is a massive burst of solar material and magnetic field from the Sun’s outer atmosphere. A powerful one occurred on Sunday, which made its way to Earth by Monday evening.
On the ground, photographers across the globe were out in force, capturing spectacular shots. Here’s a roundup of the some of the best.
The sun has ejected the largest solar radiation storm in over 20 years.
The phenomenon caused auroras to light up the skies in some parts of the world.https://t.co/B7KPabfX6e pic.twitter.com/rsiUY9cb5M
— DW News (@dwnews) January 20, 2026
This is South Greenland🇬🇱#greenland #aurora #nature #real #nofilterneeded #handsoffUSA pic.twitter.com/0UdKeH4ApV
— Rico X (@ricolh7) January 19, 2026
The cat’s impressed by this evening’s aurora. #aurora #northernlights pic.twitter.com/qz8QFc8yZs
— Rich (@cxords) January 19, 2026
Casually witnessing the most intense aurora I’ve ever seen. On a Monday. pic.twitter.com/Fxfs2KLp0w
— Dannielle Roche (@roche_dannielle) January 20, 2026
Went to check on the GoPro that I left running on the roof and predictably it had stopped recording at some point..
But caught the main show at least (so far?)
Cornwall, UK
19/01/2026#northernlights #Aurora pic.twitter.com/YDs46usckk— Christopher Probert (@tophe_probert) January 20, 2026
I will NEVER shut up about this. What a night!
Cortland, Ohio (6:30pm 1/20/26, IPhone 16pro)#Auroraborealis #Aurora pic.twitter.com/oAQSduobU5
— chloe🌜☁️ (@chloepanei) January 21, 2026
A collection of photos from last nights aurora Jan 19th 2026. 📷 pic.twitter.com/3ESdBwZaHq
— KRL (@KennethLerose) January 21, 2026
The aurora over Newdowns Head, St. Agnes. We’ve had an amazing few nights to see the northern lights again. The substorm was stronger than May 2024 and it was incredible to experience. Another unforgettable night seeing nature at its most spectacular #NorthernLights #Cornwall pic.twitter.com/o0sdsn3TYm
— Andrew Trenoweth (@KHK_Media) January 21, 2026
Just had to share this video I just downloaded from my camera of the INSANE pulsating aurora last night in Fairbanks, Alaska. Mesmerizing to see the sky light up like this. The video is not sped up at all and the pulsations were easily visible to the naked eye. pic.twitter.com/ATqtSTVjmY
— Vincent Ledvina (@Vincent_Ledvina) January 21, 2026
Space.com reports that the CME was a severe G4 geomagnetic storm, which turbo-charged the aurora lights.
