Earth Observations from Space

Images from the ISS showcasing Earth's atmosphere, clouds, and lunar observations, with striking contrasts between light and dark.

The moon over the airglow of Earth's atmosphere.

Canes Venatici star constellation, Night sky, Cluster of stars, Deep space, Hunting Dogs constellation Elements of this image furnished by NASA

STS-31 Earth observation taken aboard Discovery, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 103, is of the western United States with the Salton Sea and Imperial Valley area recognizable at the lower left. The view is framed in a flight deck window and was photographed using a fish-eye lens.

Serpens star constellation, Night sky, Cluster of stars, Deep space, Serpent, Snake constellation Elements of this image furnished by NASA

GMT359_16_54_Terry Virts_Israel at night venus setting at night zoom_131

These images show views of Earth and the moon from NASA's Cassini (left) and MESSENGER spacecraft (right) from July 19, 2013.

ISS027-E-012224 (12 April 2011) --- Sunset over western South America is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 27 crew member on the International Space Station. Crew members onboard the space station see, on average, sixteen sunrises and sunsets during a 24-hour orbital period. Each changeover between day and night on the ground is marked by the terminator, or line separating the sunlit side of Earth from the side in darkness. While the terminator is conceptualized as a hard boundaryand is frequently presented as such in graphics and visualizationsin reality the boundary between light and dark is diffuse due to scattering of light by Earths atmosphere. This zone of diffuse lighting is experienced as dusk or twilight on the ground while the sun is no longer visible, some illumination is still present due to light scattering over the local horizon. The terminator is visible in this photograph trending across the image from lower left to upper right. This panoramic vi

ISS035-E-010317 (28 March 2013) --- One of the Expedition 35 crew members aboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station took this photo which was part of a series documenting the launch of the "other half" of the Expedition 35 crew. The Soyuz TMA-08M rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 29, 2013 (Kazakh time) carrying Expedition 35 Soyuz Commander Pavel Vinogradov, NASA Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy and Russian Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin to the International Space Station. Their Soyuz rocket launched at 2:43 a.m., March 29, local time, while it was still March 28 in GMT and USA time zones.

ISS046e016803 (01/21/2016) --- NASA astronaut Scott Kelly tweeted this aurora image over Canada on Jan. 21, 2016 with the message: ""O Canada! Beneath thy shining skies. You were beautiful this morning! #YearInSpace

Ursa Minor star constellation, Night sky, Cluster of stars, Deep space, Little Bear, Polaris, North Star Elements of this image furnished by NASA

Earth observation taken by the Expedition 35 crew aboard the ISS. View of Aurora Borealis, an orbital sunrise and city lights at night. Portions of ISS solar array wings (SAWs) are in view.

Triangulum Australe star constellation, Night sky, Cluster of stars, Deep space, Southern Triangle constellation Elements of this image furnished by NASA

ISS030-E-075182 (4 Feb. 2012) --- This nighttime view of Earth's horizon and scattered city lights was photographed by one of the Expedition 30 crew members aboard the International Space Station. Activity of Aurora Borealis appears from behind one of the orbital outpost's solar array panels, then fades into an area where Earth's limb is visible and finally a small "slice" of daybreak appears at right.

S77-E-5073 (22 May 1996) --- From its position at 175 statute miles above Earth, the Space Shuttle Endeavour has encountered some colorful and attractive scenes heading into sunsets and sunrises. This particular encounter, captured with an Electronic Still Camera (ESC), occurred on flight day four, during which the six-member crew deployed the Passive Aerodynamically Stabilized Magnetically Damped Satellite (PAMS) - Satellite Test Unit (STU).

ISS029-E-007455 (18 Sept. 2011) --- This is one of a series of night time images photographed by one of the Expedition 29 crew members from the International Space Station. It features Aurora Australis, airglow, Earths Terminator and the southeastern Indian Ocean. Nadir coordinates are 51.78 degrees south latitude and 124.41 degrees east longitude.

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Earth Observation taken during a night pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder lists this as Orion rise.

AS04-01-750 (9 Nov. 1967) --- Atlantic Ocean, Antarctica, looking west, as photographed from the Earth-orbital Apollo 4 (Spacecraft 017/Saturn 501) unmanned space mission. This picture was taken when the Spacecraft 017 and the Saturn S-IVB (third) stage was orbiting Earth at an altitude of 8,628 nautical miles.

ISS034-E-010167 (21 Dec. 2012) --- As the International Space Station and SoyuzTMA-07M spacecraft were making their relative approaches on Dec. 21, one of the Expedition 34 crew members on the orbital outpost captured this photo of the distant Soyuz, which appears very small near center of the frame. Inside the arriving spacecraft were astronaut Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency, cosmonaut Roman Romanenko of Russia's Federal Space Agency and NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn.

STS039-23-036 (28 April-6 May 1991) --- A 35mm frame of the Aurora Australis, also known as the Southern Lights, photographed from the Space Shuttle Discovery's flight deck by one of its seven crew members. One of the mission objectives was to measure the spectral and spatial characteristics of auroral emissions. While passing over the sunlit portion of Earth, the crew was able to take a number of photos of the various geographic points on the planet; much of the time on nightside passes was devoted to a thorough study and documentation of auroral displays.

iss062e098273 (March 16, 2020) --- An aurora, above the city lights and a beneath a starry sky, fades into an orbital sunrise as the International Space Station orbited 263 miles above the Pacific Ocean off the coast of North America.

ISS029-E-034092 (29 Oct. 2011) --- This unusual photograph, captured by one of the Expedition 29 crew members aboard the International Space Station, highlights the reentry plasma trail (center) of Progress 42P (M-10M) supply vehicle. Progress 42P docked at the space station on April 29, 2011, and was undocked and de-orbited approximately 183 days later on Oct. 29, 2011. The ISS was located over the southern Pacific Ocean when this image was taken. Light from the rising sun illuminates the curvature of the Earth limb (horizon line) at top, but does not completely overwhelm the airglow visible at image top left. Airglow is caused by light emitted at specific wavelengths by atoms and molecules excited by ultraviolet radiation in the upper atmosphere.

This is a Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MLS-1) onboard STS-83 photo of the most recent comet to date, Hale-Bopp, which passed by Earth during the spring and summer of 1997. In this view, the comet is visible during sunset. The streaks and distorted lights seen in the bottom of the photo are city lights and petroleum fires.

ISS017-E-011603 (22 July 2008) --- Layers of Earth's atmosphere, brightly colored as the sun rises over central Asia, and Polar Mesospheric Clouds (also known as noctilucent clouds) are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 17 crewmember on the International Space Station. The image was acquired in support of International Polar Year research.

Expedition 47 Earth observation composite created with iss047e078039 - iss047e078041137B1653-137B1655 Sun glint 1150 mm lens

iss062e102390 (March 17, 2020) --- An aurora accents Earth's atmospheric glow underneath a starry sky as the glare from computer instrumentation reflects off a window in the cupola. The International Space Station was orbiting 263 miles above Kazakhstan when an Expedition 62 crewmember took this photograph.

Astronaut in space over Earth planet. Elements of this image furnished by NASA. Mixed media. Exploring outer space. Mixed media

Space, Sun and planet Earth at Night

iss061e112503 (Jan. 1, 2020) --- A waxing crescent Moon is pictured as the International Space Station orbited 260 miles above the north African country of Algeria.

Earth Observations taken by Expedition 41 crewmember. Aurora and sunrise are visible. One of a series of time lapse photos.

iss070e000820 (Sept. 30, 2023) --- The waning gibbous Moon is pictured above Earth from the International Space Station as it soared into an orbital nighttime 260 miles above the Atlantic Ocean near the northeast coast of South America.

The morning sun reflects on the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean as seen from the Apollo 7 spacecraft during its 134th revolution of the Earth on Oct. 20, 1968.<br /><br />Image Credit: NASA

Earth observation taken during day pass by an Expedition 37 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS). Part of Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) arm visible. Identified via Twitter message as sunrise.

November 9, 1967 - Earth as viewed from 10,000 miles. The Apollo 4 (Spacecraft 017/Saturn 501) unmanned test flight made a great ellipse around Earth as a test of the translunar motors and of the high speed entry required of a manned flight returning from the moon. A 70mm camera was programmed to look out a window toward Earth, and take a series of photographs from high apogee. Coastal Brazil, Atlantic Ocean, West Africa, Antarctica, looking west. This photograph was made when the Apollo 4 space

ISS016-E-009407 (3 Nov. 2007) --- Layers of Earth's atmosphere, brightly colored as the sun rises, are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 16 crewmember on the International Space Station.

iss060e002090 (June 29, 2019) --- The Earth's limb and the atmospheric glow highlight the thin blue atmosphere back lit by the Sun's rays during a period between night and day. The light of the moon and the starry Milky Way drape the background as the International Space Station orbited 257 miles above the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico.

Airglow at Earth's Horizon

S66-54643 (14 Sept. 1966) --- Western half of Australia, including the coastline from Perth to Port Darwin, looking west, as seen from the Gemini-11 spacecraft at a record-high apogee of 740 nautical miles during its 26th revolution of Earth.

STS083-748-006 (4-8 April 1997) --- This type of scene is seen about every 45 minutes as the astronauts travel around the world. Sunrises and sunsets differ in structure, since the tropopause altitude and atmospheric lamina temperatures vary with time of day, season, and latitude. Close analysis of these terminator photographs provide counts of the number and spacing of atmospheric laminae. In the photographs, as many as 4 laminae have been noted in the normally red-to-orange troposphere, and up to 12 laminae have been counted in the blue upper atmosphere. However, true replication of human vision is not possible using present films. For instance, while on orbit, one astronaut counted 22 layers. The photograph of that event recorded only 8 such layers.

S135-E-006375 (9 July 2011) --- Without the sun's being temporarily available to highlight space shuttle Atlantis' cargo bay and vertical stabilizer, the spacecraft barely shows through as a silhouette in this image photographed from the aft flight deck. The thin blue line of Earths atmosphere is the dominant feature in the photo.

iss059e119533 (June 21, 2019) --- The atmospheric glow and a wispy aurora australis, also known as the "southern lights," frame a cloud-covered Earth as the International Space Station orbited 254 miles above the Indian Ocean due east of the territory of French Southern and Antarctic Lands.

A brilliant aurora streams above Earth's horizon in this photograph frm the International Space Station as it orbited 270 miles above the Indian Ocean notheast of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands.

Ophiuchus star constellation, Night sky, Cluster of stars, Deep space, Serpentarius, Serpent bearer Elements of this image furnished by NASA

In this rare image taken on 19 July, the wide-angle camera on the international Cassini spacecraft has captured Saturns rings and our planet Earth and Moon in the same frame. The dark side of Saturn, its bright limb, the main rings, the F ring, and the G and E rings are clearly seen; the limb of Saturn and the F ring are overexposed. The ‘breaks in the brightness of Saturns limb are due to the shadows of the rings on the globe of Saturn, preventing sunlight from shining through the atmosphere in those regions. The E and G rings have been brightened for better visibility. Earth, 1.44 billion km away in this image, appears as a blue dot at centre right; the Moon can be seen as a fainter protrusion off its right side. The other bright dots nearby are stars. b a href= http //www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html rel= nofollow NASA image use policy. /a /b b a href= http //www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html rel= nofollow NASA Goddard Space Flight Cente

The aurora australis streams above the Indian Ocean in this picture from the International Space Station as it orbited 270 miles above the Earth.

ISS015-E-20485 (30 July 2007) --- A distorted view of a full moon intersecting Earth's horizon is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 15 crewmember on the International Space Station.

ISS035-E-010313 (28 March 2013) --- One of the Expedition 35 crew members aboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station took this photo which was part of a series documenting the launch of the "other half" of the Expedition 35 crew. The Soyuz TMA-08M rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 29, 2013 (Kazakh time) carrying Expedition 35 Soyuz Commander Pavel Vinogradov, NASA Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy and Russian Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin to the International Space Station. Their Soyuz rocket launched at 2:43 a.m., March 29, local time, while it was still March 28 in GMT and USA time zones.

ISS027-E-015900 (24 April 2011) --- Backdropped by the thin line of Earth's atmosphere and the blackness of space, a portion of an International Space Station solar array panel is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 27 crew member aboard the station.

Phoenix star constellation, Night sky, Cluster of stars, Deep space Elements of this image furnished by NASA

CEO during Expedition 69. iss069e031362 (July 13, 2023) -- As the International Space Station orbited 259 miles above North Africa, clouds covered the sky. To the bottom right of the image, one of the station's roll-out solar arrays peeks through.

ISS043E155854 (04/27/2015) --- A rising sun spreads across the Earth and through the green blooming aurora to silhouette the blackened outline of the International Space Station on the morning of Apr. 27, 2015.

Earth observation taken by the Expedition 35 crew aboard the ISS.

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ISS030-E-102292 (25 Jan. 2012) --- This is one of a series of photos showing Aurora Borealis as photographed by one of the Expedition 30 crew members onboard the International Space Station from approximately 240 miles above Earth on Jan. 25, 2012.

Haze of Titan

Earth observation taken by the Expedition 39 crew aboard the ISS. Night view of airglow, aurora, and city lights. Image was downlinked in folder north lights, and released by flight engineer 3 (FE3) on Instagram.

Sculptor star constellation, Night sky, Cluster of stars, Deep space, Sculptor Workshop, Sculptor Studio constellation Elements of this image furnished by NASA

Uranus and moons, illustration

Sunset in Orbit

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ISS017-E-005452 (26 April 2008) --- Layers of Earth's atmosphere, brightly colored as the sun sets over South America, are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 17 crewmember on the International Space Station.

Cetus star constellation, Night sky, Cluster of stars, Deep space, Whale constellation Elements of this image furnished by NASA

ISS024-E-006136 (16 June 2010) --- Polar mesospheric clouds, illuminated by an orbital sunrise, are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 24 crew member on the International Space Station. Polar mesospheric, or noctilucent (night shining), clouds are observed from both Earths surface and in orbit by crew members aboard the space station. They are called night-shining clouds as they are usually seen at twilight. Following the setting of the sun below the horizon and darkening of Earths surface, these high clouds are still briefly illuminated by sunlight. Occasionally the ISS orbital track becomes nearly parallel to Earths day/night terminator for a time, allowing polar mesospheric clouds to be visible to the crew at times other than the usual twilight due to the space station altitude. This unusual photograph shows polar mesospheric clouds illuminated by the rising, rather than setting, sun at center right. Low clouds on the horizon appear yellow and orange, while hi

Earth observation taken during a night pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder lists this as Noctilucent clouds.

S62-06011 (20 Feb. 1962) --- Orbital sunset photographed by astronaut John H. Glenn Jr. aboard the Friendship 7 during his Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) spaceflight.

S82-39796 (11-16 Nov. 1982) --- A night scene of the STS-5 space shuttle Columbia in orbit over Earths glowing horizon was captured by an astronaut crew member aiming a 70mm handheld camera through the aft windows of the flight deck. The aft section of the cargo bay contains two closed protective shields for satellites which were deployed on the flight. The nearest cradle or shield houses the Satellite Business Systems (SBS-3) spacecraft and is visible in this frame while the Telesta Canada ANIK C-3 shield is out of view. The vertical stabilizer, illuminated by the sun, is flanked by two orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pods.

iss064e035870 (Feb. 21, 2021) --- An aurora glows above the Earth's horizon as the International Space Station flew into an orbital sunset 270 miles above the Tasman Sea off New Zealand's southwest coast.

The first rays of an orbital sunrise begin illuminating the Earth's atmosphere in this photograph taken from the International Space Station as it orbited 263 miles above the Pacific Ocean.

ISS040-E-020018 (25 June 2014) ---

iss063e078584 (Aug. 27, 2020) --- The night lights of the southeastern U.S. are pictured as the International Space Station orbited over the Gulf of Mexico.

ISS027-E-013302 (15 April 2011) --- This photo captured by one of the Expedition 27 crew members aboard the International Space Station features Earth's atmospheric limb and sunset over southwestern Asia.

The Earth from space showing all they beauty. Elements of this image are furnished by NASA. Our unique universe

ISS039-E-018314 (3 May 2014) --- One of the Expedition 39 crew members aboard the International Space Station recorded this still image of the Aurora Australis when the orbital outpost was passing over the Indian Ocean on May 3, 2014. Hardware on the station is seen as a silhouette in upper left.

ISS028-E-008838 (20 June 2011) --- Backdropped by Earths horizon and the blackness of space, European Space Agency's (ESA) "Johannes Kepler" Automated Transfer Vehicle-2 (ATV-2) begins its relative separation from the International Space Station. The ATV-2 undocked from the aft port of the Zvezda Service Module at 10:46 a.m. (EDT) on June 20, 2011.

Earth observation taken by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder labels this as TL Aurora w New Zealand at end.

ISS029-E-005904 (17 Sept. 2011) --- This is one of a series of night time images photographed by one of the Expedition 29 crew members from the International Space Station. It features Aurora Australis over the southern Indian ocean. Nadir coordinates are 50.16 south latitude and 48.11 degrees east longitude.

. Artist's Concept of the Earth Entry System for Mars Sample Return. This artist's concept shows Mars Sample Return Earth Entry System. The vehicle would bring curated Martian samples collected by NASA's Perseverance Rover on the final leg of their journey from Mars to Earth. The illustration shows the Earth Entry System, a capsule about 4 feet (1.25 meters) in diameter, on its final approach to Earth, after being ejected from the Earth Return Orbiter. Once in Earth's atmosphere, it would take the vehicle about six minutes to land at the U.S. Air Force's Utah Test and Training Range in west-central Utah. Velocity at time of touchdown for the parachute-less capsule is expected to be about 90 mph (40 meters per second). The Earth Entry System is part of the multi-mission Mars Sample Return program being planned by NASA and ESA (European Space Agency).

STS067-709-007 (2-18 March 1995) --- This shot, taken just after sunset, shows several distinct layers of gases in the atmosphere on the Earths limb. The distinct colors formed by the amount of scattered light that passes through these gases.

Ursa Major star constellation, Night sky, Cluster of stars, Deep space, Great Bear constellation Elements of this image furnished by NASA

This sunrise was captured from the crew cabin of the Space Shuttle Orbiter Columbia on the STS-107 mission. Launched January 16, 2003, STS-107 was strictly a multidiscipline microgravity and Earth science research mission involving 80-plus International experiments performed during 16-days, many of which were managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The majority of the research was conducted in the Shuttle's mid deck, the area directly under the cockpit, in the new SPACEHAB Research Double Module. This was the first flight for that module, which doubled the volume available for experiments and significantly increased the amount and complexity of research from the last dedicated Shuttle science mission, STS-95, flown in 1998 with a single SPACEHAB module. The pressurized module was carried in Columbia's payload bay and was accessible to the crew via a turnel from the Shuttle's mid deck.

This chart compares the first Earth-size planets found around a sun-like star to planets in our own solar system, Earth and Venus. NASA's Kepler mission discovered the newfound planets, called Kepler-20e and Kepler-20f.

Time lapse (ISS040E117497 thru ISS040E118044) Earth observation taken during a night pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder lists this as TL SUPER Aurora 4 - from DC-1.

This illustration shows NASA's Cassini spacecraft in orbit around Saturn. Cassini made 22 orbits that swooped between the rings and the planet before ending its mission on Sept. 15, 2017, with a final plunge into Saturn.

S122-E-006247 (8 Feb. 2008) --- A colorful view of airglow layers at Earth's horizon is featured in this image photographed by a STS-122 crewmember on the Space Shuttle Atlantis.

Aurora Australis Over Australia From International Space Station in Orbit

The Moon and Aurora Australis

Saturn's Blue Cranium

iss030e075132 (4 Feb. 2012) ---

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - NASA's Lunar Prospector spacecraft launched successfully on its way to the Moon from Launch Complex 46 (LC46) at Cape Canaveral Air Station on Jan. 6 at 9:38 p.m. EST. It was the inaugural launch of Lockheed Martin's Athena II launch vehicle and the first launch from LC46, operated by Spaceport Florida Authority. Lunar Prospector, built for the NASA Ames Research Center by Lockheed Martin, is a spin-stabilized spacecraft designed to provide NASA with the first global maps of the Moon's surface and its gravitational magnetic fields, as well as look for the possible presence of ice near the lunar poles. It will orbit the Moon at an altitude of approximately 63 miles during a one-year mission.

If you could ride along with NASA's Juno spacecraft as it approaches Jupiter during one of its regular close passes by the giant planet, you would be treated to a striking vista similar to this one. Unlike the Moon or Venus, this view of Jupiter in a crescent phase is impossible to see from Earth, even using a telescope. Since Jupiter's orbit is outside Earth's, an observer on Earth can only see the side of Jupiter that is illuminated by the Sun, so the planet always appears full. Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill created this mosaic using raw data from the JunoCam instrument. It comprises seven images taken during Juno's 39th close pass by Jupiter on Jan. 12, 2022.

ISS040-E-050825 (7 July 2014) --- One of the Expedition 40 crew members aboard the International Space Station, flying 226 nautical miles above the Indian Ocean, south of Australia, recorded this image of Aurora Australis or the Southern Lights on July 7, 2014.

Earth observation taken during night pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station (ISS). Per Twitter message Florida and US east coast.

iss058e027197 (March 4, 2019) --- The uncrewed SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is silhouetted against the Earth's horizon during Demo-1, the first flight of NASA's Commercial Crew Program to the International Space Station. The vehicle ultimately docked to the station's Harmony module after completing several successful demonstrations during approach.

STS061-56-027 (2-13 Dec 1993) --- This scene, captured with a 35mm camera from inside the Space Shuttle Endeavour, shows Jupiter rising above the airglow over Earth's horizon. The crescent Moon is at top frame.

GMT340_00_10_Terry Virts_venus sunset jupiter sunrise_131

Earth observation taken by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder labels this as TL Aurora w New Zealand at end.

Earth observations taken by Expedition 38 crewmember. Aurora over Canada is visible. Image was released by astronaut on Twitter.

ISS006-E-48523 (28 April 2003) --- A crescent moon (right) and the planet Venus were photographed by an Expedition six crewmember onboard the International Space Station (ISS). As a result of overexposure, the dark part of the moons terrain is visible, which is faintly lit by Earthshine (sunlight reflected from our planet onto the moon). Earths horizon is visible in the lower left portion of this image.

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