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See the Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis from space!

The Aurora Borealis and the Aurora Australis are spectacular sights to see, but there are a lot of factors that work against most of us who want to witness the spectacle — geographic location, cloudy skies and light pollution being the biggest limitations. However, when you're in space, flying around the planet every 90 minutes or so, the only thing standing in your way is a busy schedule keeping you away from the windows.

So, when the auroras flare up due to an increase in solar activity, the astronauts orbiting on the International Space Station have been kind enough to use some of their down-time to snap pictures of them as they fly by overhead.

This very active Aurora Borealis was captured as ISS Expedition 30 flew over Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Jan 25, 2012

This image of a 'Green Sea' of the Aurora Borealis was snapped on the same night.

Expedition 29 snapped this picture of the Aurora Australis over the southern Indian Ocean, which also shows airglow on the horizon, on September 18, 2011.

This bright tendril stretching across the southern Indian Ocean was seen the day before.

With the solar maximum predicted for this year, and it being a 'twin-peaks' maximum (with the first peak being in late 2011), maybe if the auroras flare up again, our very own Commander Hadfield will favour us with some pictures of his own.

(Images courtesy: NASA)

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