More Postcards From the Frontier

"Dazzling Photo: Space Station Flies Through Big Space Storm"
Space.com (April 6, 2010)

"An astronaut has captured the rare view of the International Space Station zooming through a dazzling display of Earth's aurora as the strongest geomagnetic storm of the year hit the planet.

"In the stunning space aurora photo, the International Space Station is seen flying 220 miles (354 km) over an Earth lit up by eerie green auroras peppered by red hues. A Russian Soyuz spacecraft is backlit by the cosmic light show in the image.

"Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi took the stunning photo and posted it Monday on Twitter, where he has been chronicling his six-month mission to the space station under the name Astro_Soichi..."

That's Astro_Soichi, on Twitter. A recent Tweet read "おはようございます。たった今北海道通過！札幌はくもりでしたが、旭川は良く見えました。この次の周回軌道で島根，広島、愛媛、高知と通過します" - but there's hope for folks whose Japanese isn't as good as it could be. The one before that read "http://twitpic.com/1do9r9 - Aurora, Moon, and my home away from home." - and linked to a remarkable photo. I'm not sure, but I think the first Tweet was mostly for folks in Hokkaido and points south and west.

Related post:

• "Postcards From the Frontier"
  (April 3, 2010)
• "ISS Space Station Walkthrough, Looking Ahead"
  (October 28, 2009)
• "Spaceship to the Moon: This One's from India"
  (October 22, 2008)

More:

• "Humanity in Space: The Next Few Decades"