Earth glows like a half moon while a giant aurora writhes over the North Pole in this ultraviolet image from the new Smile spacecraft.
Quick facts
What it is: An aurora on the sunlit side of Earth
Where it is: Over the North Pole, as seen from about 75,000 miles away
When it was shared: Sept. 30
The debut images from a new Earth-observing satellite have just revealed something extraordinary: massive auroras rippling over the North Pole in broad daylight.
Earth’s auroras are among our planet’s most breathtaking phenomena—scientifically fascinating and visually stunning. They occur when charged particles from the sun interact with atmospheric gases, creating radiant displays of light primarily visible in polar regions during nighttime hours.
Traditionally confined to dark skies and polar latitudes, these new observations from the joint European-Chinese Smile mission are unprecedented. The spacecraft officially commenced science operations this week, delivering insights previously impossible to capture.
Smile tested its soft X-ray imager on the light of the distant supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (center), located 11,000 light-years from Earth.
These remarkable ultraviolet images capture a vast, serpentine ring of charged particles swirling around Earth’s North Pole. In these striking views, our planet appears as a luminous crescent, while the aurora extends across approximately one-third of the sunlit side. Beyond Earth, distant stars create a dazzling backdrop as the spacecraft maintains its observational position.
Captured just two weeks after activation of Smile’s Ultraviolet Aurora Imager, these initial observations confirm that all onboard instruments are functioning optimally. This joint mission between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences is now fully operational for scientific research.
Launched on May 19, Smile will conduct a three-year mission observing Earth’s magnetosphere from a highly elliptical orbit reaching approximately 75,000 miles (121,000 kilometers) above the North Pole. This vantage point allows unprecedented 45-hour continuous observations of polar auroral activity, providing valuable data on solar-terrestrial interactions.
In addition to its Ultraviolet Aurora Imager, Smile carries complementary instruments designed to detect X-rays, magnetic field variations, and energetic particle emissions. These multifaceted capabilities enable comprehensive monitoring of space weather phenomena affecting Earth’s near-space environment.
During initial testing, scientists successfully evaluated the spacecraft’s soft X-ray imager capabilities by targeting the distant Cassiopeia A supernova remnant, located roughly 11,000 light-years from Earth. While the imaging system performs nominally, ongoing calibration efforts aim to reduce background noise when observing terrestrial phenomena.
