Space Ethics Environment And Light PollutionEthic

Auroras affecting observations and measurement

April 5, 2026r/nasa, r/space, r/astronomy

In r/astronomy and r/astronomy, auroras are both celebrated visually and criticized for interfering with scientific observing, from Artemis II photos capturing both poles to ground based photometry being disrupted.

I like how both northern and southern auroras are in one frame
As a bonus, the crew caught both the Aurora Borealis (bottom left) and the Aurora Australis (top right).
Auroras ruining photometry
While I was observing astronomical targets, auroras were doing their best to ruin the photometric measurements.
But it was beautiful anyway.
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