Rocket shines under the northern lights | Space photo of the day for March 25, 2026

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A gorgeous new photo shows the northern lights rippling across the night sky above Isar Aerospace's Spectrum rocket.

What is it?

Isar Aerospace, based in Germany, is attempting to launch Spectrum into orbit on Wednesday (March 25) from Andøya Spaceport in northern Norway. If it is successful, it will become the first rocket to reach orbit from European soil.

The rocket's first flight in March 2025 saw Spectrum lift off and clear the pad, only to crash spectacularly less than a minute later. Still, Isar hailed the test flight as a success.

While the first flight carried no payloads, this second flight, which Isar has named "Onward and Upward," will attempt to put five cubesats and one scientific experiment in orbit.

Why is it amazing?

In this photo, tendrils of green light appear in the sky over the Spectrum rocket upright on its launch pad, thanks to the northern lights, or aurora borealis. This stunning phenomenon occurs when charged particles from the sun collide with atmospheric gases like oxygen and nitrogen in Earth's atmosphere, exciting the atoms in these gases and releasing energy in the form of light.

Earth's magnetic field funnels charged particles from the sun towards the poles, making arctic locations like Norway's Andøya Spaceport prime locations for viewing the northern lights.

Isar Aerospace shared this photo on March 18, close to the March 20 spring equinox for the Northern Hemisphere. Earth's tilt during equinoxes orients the planet's magnetic field in such a way that it strengthens auroras at these times.