Caption: A 35mm frame of the Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, photographed from Discovery's flight deck by one of its seven crew members. One of the mission objectives of STS-39 was to measure the spectral and spatial characteristics of auroral emissions. While passing over the sunlit portion of Earth, the crew was able to take a number of photos of the various geographic points on the planet; much of the time on night passes was devoted to a thorough study and documentation of auroral displays.
