The Earth and a starry night appear to merge into one strange and otherworldly sci-fi trip in this mind-bending photo captured by a NASA astronaut in space with help from an astrophotgrapher on the ground.
What is it?
What looks like something out of the finale of “2001: A Space Odyssey” is actually a long-exposure image of the Earth and stars seen from space at night from the International Space Station as witnessed by NASA astronaut Don Pettit.
Pettit, a veteran astronaut and accomplished astrophotographer, unveiled the image on March 11 on social media. It shows a view out the window of the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Freedom, which is returning four Crew-9 astronauts to Earth today.
The star trails above at the streaks on Earth occur in long exposure photos as the ISS flies over the Earth at 14,500 mph. On the planet below, the white blobs are lightning, with city lights creating the different colored streaks. The linear streaks above are stars.
Where is it?
This photo shows Earth, our home planet, and was taken from the International Space Station as it flew more than 261 miles up. The space station has been home rotating crews of astronauts since 2000, giving space travelers sweeping views of their planet.
This view, in particular, is from one of the windows aboard a visiting SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft that ferred the Crew-9 astronaut mission to the ISS in September 2024. It is returning to Earth with two Crew-9 astronuts and two NASA astronauts who launched in June on a Boeing Starliner capsule, but ended staying aboard for 9 months due to NASA concerns with the vehicle, which returned empty last summer.
Why is it amazing?
Views of Earth from space can trigger what scientists call the “overview effect,” a sense of wonder and perspective that astronauts have long reported as one of the most poignant parts of space travel.
This view is stunning not just in the sense of motion and speed, but in its complexity. Pettit, who has published his own “Spaceborne” book of space photography from the ISS, worked with famed astrophotographer Babak Tafreshi of The World At Night on Earth, who assisted in processing the image. It can be a difficult process, requiring the stacking of many images to get the desire result.
“Star trail from Crew 9 Dragon vehicle. Thanks to Babak Tafreshi for the image processing,” Pettit wrote on X.
Want to know more?
If you’re wondering about the ISS, our guide to the International Space Station explains all about its creation and assembly. (Spoiler alert, its days are numbered.) You can see more examples of Don Pettit’s space photography in our recent stories, as well as coveage of his previous ISS missions.
