This video of the Aurora Australis was created from a sequence of still shots taken by astronauts on board the International Space Station.

The images were taken on September 11, 2011 as the ISS orbit pass descended over eastern Australia.

Like its northern hemisphere counterpart the Aurora Borealis, the Aurora Australis occurs when ions in the solar wind collide with atoms of oxygen and nitrogen in the upper atmosphere.

Atoms excited by these collisions emit light as they return to their original energy level, creating the visible aurora. Check out the amazing video after the jump!