Published : 07 Oct 2026, 03:03 AM
Updated : 07 Oct 2026, 03:03 AM
A spacecraft has captured a complete ring of auroral activity around Earth’s north pole, offering a rare view of the northern lights across both the night and daylight sides of the planet, NASA reports.
NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day for Oct 6 has featured footage from the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, or SMILE, showing the full auroral oval in ultraviolet light. The mission is a joint project of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
The oval cannot be seen in its entirety from the ground because it forms a huge ring around the planet’s magnetic pole. NASA said the SMILE footage, recorded over about an hour in late July, captures the aurora’s changing and turbulent nature.
Space.com reported that the ultraviolet footage shows auroral activity on Earth’s dayside, where the display is normally hidden by sunlight, shortly after SMILE’s ultraviolet imager was activated.
SMILE’s Ultraviolet Imager is the first camera since NASA’s Polar spacecraft ended its mission in 2008 that has been capable of imaging the entire northern auroral oval in ultraviolet light, according to Space.com.
The spacecraft can monitor the oval continuously for up to 45 hours, helping scientists track how auroral activity changes as solar wind conditions shift and connect it to activity in Earth’s magnetosphere.
NASA said the mission is designed to improve understanding of solar wind interactions with Earth’s magnetosphere, potentially helping scientists protect astronauts, spacecraft and electrical grids from the effects of solar storms.
