Night Lights and Aurora

Astronaut Don Pettit is a master photographer. His time-lapse photos reveal tracks of light. Mario Quiroga's keyboard works musical magic.

Night Lights and Aurora – Don Pettit & Mario Quiroga

This is a remarkable movie – with ethereal images recently taken on the ISS.

First – the Earth photography: Don Pettit, NASA astronaut, is a very creative and talented photographer of Earth. Currently on orbit (his 4th mission to the ISS), he loves to experiment. In these surreal photos, he took a series of long-duration photos, revealing tracks of urban night lights as the ISS passed over. The stars show their own curving pattern, and the aurora adds even more mystery. For the movie, one frame morphs into the next in a magical dance.

Second – the music: Mario Quiroga, is a composer and musician in Chile. He is a “musico-terapista” (musical therapist), who creates floating music with his digital synthesizers, designed to help soothe the soul. Here we feature his “Aurora Boreal” composition, like a musical magic carpet as we soar over these ethereal views.