This is a picture taken by expedition 29 in the ISS
This picture was taken during expedition 29. The Aurora is above the Tasman sea, outside of New Zealand. Expedition 29 began in 2011 and had a crew size of six. The launch was delayed due to failures on a re-supply vehicle. Even though the ISS is run by NASA, astronauts from all around the world occupy it. In this expedition astronauts have come from the USA, Russia, and Japan.[1][2][3]
Auroras happen because of solar wind. When charged particles hit the atmosphere it excites particles, which produces the Aurora. A lot of these particles come from sun-spots. These sunspots run on a solar cycle. The high of the solar cycle happened in 2013-2014 and we are now approaching the solar minimum.[4]