Solar Winds Causing Colorful Auroras

Astronauts onboard the International Space Station have been enjoying some colorful auroras this month caused by solar wind buffeting Earth's magnetic field.  Some of their photos have just been beamed back to Earth and you can see them on Saturday's edition of http://spaceweather.com.

Earlier Saturday, space shuttle Atlantis docked with the space station to deliver the new Columbus science laboratory, which will be installed during a spacewalk on February 10th. As they work, the combined crews should be alert for more auroras.  A solar wind stream is heading for Earth, due to arrive February 10th or 11th, possibly sparking a new round of geomagnetic storms.

Meanwhile, the shuttle and the space station are putting on a show of their own.  Friday night, the two spacecraft orbited over Europe where photographers captured their flight.  The space station has grown so large that amazing details are now obvious in the eyepieces of ordinary backyard telescopes. See the photos at http://spaceweather.com