Astronaut’s photo shows Earth as you’ve never seen it before

NASA astronaut Don Pettit already has a long-held estimation for creating stunning abstraction photography, and his latest effort will only bolster it.

Shared connected societal media connected Thursday, nan image (top) shows Earth arsenic a blaze of streaking light, an effect created by utilizing a agelong and aggregate exposures to seizure cities astatine nighttime crossed respective continents.

But nan photograph, captured from nan International Space Station (ISS) wherever Pettit arrived successful September connected his 4th orbital mission, besides features tons of different goodies, including possibly nan first ISS image to show some a sunset and sunrise successful a azygous frame. Circular prima trails supra Earth are besides visible, and if you look intimately capable you mightiness besides beryllium capable to spot lightning flashes and aurora.

New prima trails photography is back!

This 30-minute clip vulnerability done orbital nighttime pinch our caller 15mm wide-angle lens was capable to seizure sunset (on nan left) each nan measurement to sunrise (on nan right). I person ne'er been capable to seizure this earlier but our caller accelerated (14mm f1.4 and… pic.twitter.com/H6uV9GGEK1

— Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) November 7, 2024

“This 30-minute clip vulnerability done orbital nighttime pinch our caller 15mm wide-angle lens was capable to seizure sunset (on nan left) each nan measurement to sunrise (on nan right),” Pettit, astatine 69 NASA’s oldest serving astronaut, wrote successful a station connected societal media. “I person ne'er been capable to seizure this earlier but our caller accelerated (14mm f1.4 and 15mm T1.8) wide-angle lenses are opening up observations antecedently not possible.”

Pettit added: “Visible are information prima trails supra nan world limb created not from Earth rotation but from our orbital mobility (pitch axis of ISS), cities streaking by (again owed to orbital motion), lightning flashes, aurora, [and] atmospheric airglow (both beardown greenish and fainter red).”

The American astronaut utilized a powerful Nikon Z9 camera pinch an Arri-Zeiss 15mm T1.8 maestro premier lens to seizure nan image, opening nan shutter for 30 seconds astatine T1.8 for individual exposures that were assembled utilizing Photoshop into a composite balanced to a 30-minute exposure.

Pettit deed nan headlines soon aft arriving astatine nan ISS past period aft capturing a singular image showing nan Polaris Dawn unit heading backmost to Earth astatine precocious velocity aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft astatine nan extremity of a history-making mission. He besides precocious shared immoderate sublime shots that look much for illustration useful of art than photos of Earth.