APOD: 2022 July 29 - SOFIA s Southern Lights

Good Red Friday morning, Rallypoint, and welcome to the July 29th edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): "SOFIA's Southern Lights." SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, is a 747 aircraft operated by NASA based out of Palmdale, California. It has been modified to carry an infrared telescope up into the stratosphere. While flying south of New Zealand earlier this month, this view of the Southern Lights (aurora australis) was captured off the starboard wing of the aircraft. The color on the engine nacelle tells me SOFIA was flying southwest into the sunset when this image was taken. The bright star above the auroral curtain is Canopus, found in the constellation Carina.