Leicester from space: Dutch astronaut’s photo shows whole UK lit up

Dr Nigel Bannister, Senior Lecturer in our Department of Physics and Astronomy, is in today’s Leicester Mercury providing some context to impressive images of the UK taken from the International Space Station.

Dutch astronaut André Kuipers is on the ISS right now and has posted some fantastic pictures to his Flickr photostream. Here's a particularly good one of the UK at full resolution.

In the Merc’, Nigel says: "It's an incredible image of the United Kingdom and Ireland which, as well as being very beautiful, has a number of interesting features for us scientists.” But he adds: “The image clearly shows the level of light that pervades the UK and highlights what an energy-hungry society we live in.”

At the top of some of the photos, the aurora borealis can be made out, a phenomenon which can have serious effects on industry and which will be the focus of a satellite device currently being developed here at the University of Leicester.

On Tuesday 24 April, ESA will link the ISS with Leicester’s National Space Centre and similar facilities in Spain, France and the Netherlands. Five lucky schoolchildren at the NSC will have the chance to talk directly with André Kuipers and ask him about life in orbit.

Image courtesy of André Kuiper (anotated by University of Leicester)