A Shot In The Dark: Chasing The Aurora From The World’s Northernmost Rocket Range by NASA

In the tiny Arctic town of Ny-Ålesund, where polar bears outnumber people, winter means three months without sunlight. The unending darkness is ideal for those who seek a strange breed of northern lights, normally obscured by daylight. When these unusual auroras shine, Earth's atmosphere leaks into space.

NASA scientists traveled to Ny-Ålesund to launch rockets through these auroras and witness oxygen particles right in the middle of their escape. Piercing these fleeting auroras, some 300 miles high, would require strategy, patience — and a fair bit of luck. This is their story.

Photo credit: NASA/Allison Stancil-Ervin
Read the text version of this piece: https://go.nasa.gov/2XgaA9x