Nasa creates amazing Northern Lights video in 4K ultra-high definition

The video is the first in a coming series of ultra-high definition videos from the space agency

Nasa has released a stunning ultra-high definition time-lapse video of the Earth, taken from the International Space Station (ISS).

The impressive five-minute video shows amazing pictures of the Northern Lights from space, taken as the ISS orbits around the Earth at a speed of 4.75 miles per second.

Using footage from numerous orbits, the video shows the huge diversity of Earth - we get to watch as glowing cities pass below, lightning strikes illuminate the clouds around them, and the Northern Lights flicker around the atmosphere.

The video is the first release from Nasa's latest project, Nasa UHD TV, which will deliver higher-resolution pictures than ever before.

Created for the agency by broadcasting company Harmonic, the new project will allow Nasa to harness the latest in video technology to show off their work in full 4K definition, rather than with the lower-quality footage they relied on before.

The technology will no doubt be put to good use by Tim Peake, the first British European Space Agency astronaut, who has been in space for 125 days at the time of writing.

Broadcasts starring the ISS's astronauts are not uncommon, but we might soon start seeing them in greater detail than ever before.