The Beauty of Earth From Orbit

Alan Taylor
May 21, 2024
28 Photos
In Focus

The International Space Station is currently hosting seven crew members of Expedition 71, which began on April 6. The ISS orbits the Earth at about 17,150 miles per hour, orbiting the planet about 16 times a day. In recent months, the astronauts and cosmonauts of Expeditions 70 and 71 have taken some amazing photographs of our lovely planet as they pass overhead, and I wanted to share more of those unique views here.

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A view of the Soyuz module docked with the ISS as it passes above Eastern Europe, looking west, on January 13, 2024 #

Jasmin Moghbeli / NASA

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The dark side of the moon is illuminated by Earthshine, seen above the layers of our atmosphere, with the Pleiades star cluster seen above it in the background, in May 2024. #

Matthew Dominick / NASA

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A view of the twisting landforms around the Paraguay River, photographed by Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli as the ISS orbited 263 miles above #

Jasmin Moghbeli / NASA

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A view of Egypt's Nile River, seen at night on January 14, 2024 #

NASA

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Vortices form as the wind pushes clouds past an island in the Southern Ocean on April 26, 2024. #

NASA

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A night view of Shanghai, seen on February 17, 2024 #

NASA

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Lake Michigan (left), Lake Huron, and the state of Michigan, seen from orbit on April 26, 2024 #

NASA

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Clouds and an aurora, seen above the Southern Ocean on February 13, 2024 #

NASA

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Expedition 70 crew members pose for a portrait ahead of Crew-7's departure from the International Space Station on March 11, 2024. From left are Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA, Loral O'Hara and Jeanette Epps of NASA, Andreas Mogensen of ESA, and Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA. #

NASA

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NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Loral O'Hara wears personal protective equipment during scientific-maintenance duties aboard the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory module, photographed on February 8, 2024. #

NASA

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JAXA's free-flying robotic camera, also known as the JEM (Japanese Experiment Module) Internal Ball Camera 2, is pictured during a technology demonstration inside the Kibo laboratory module on February 27, 2024. The Internal Ball Camera 2 is being tested for its ability to autonomously maneuver and navigate aboard the International Space Station while photographing and videotaping crew activities. #

NASA

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The Progress 85 cargo craft is seen shortly after undocking from International Space Station on February 12, 2024, as it was orbiting 260 miles above the Pacific Ocean. #

NASA

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The city lights of Bangkok, Thailand, and its suburbs contrast with the green lights of fishing boats on the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea, seen on May 6, 2024. #

NASA

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As the ISS orbited 260 miles above Egypt, center-pivot irrigation crop circles were seen in the Sahara Desert on November 19, 2023. #

NASA

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Thrusters on the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft fire automatically while adjusting the vehicle's careful approach toward the International Space Station to dock with the Harmony module's forward port on November 11, 2023. #

NASA

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An orbital view of New York City, as well as parts of New Jersey, photographed on December 20, 2023 #

NASA

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Sea-ice patterns in the northern Atlantic Ocean, seen on April 27, 2024 #

NASA

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A night view of the Earth and parts of the ISS, including the illuminated Dextre telemanipulator, or Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), seen at top center on April 14, 2024 #

NASA

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An orbital view of Viedma Glacier, in Argentina, seen on December 28, 2023 #

NASA

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Wind-blown snow gathers at the edges of farm fields in the American Midwest, seen on December 13, 2023. #

NASA

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An oblique night view of the American Northeast, looking southwest, with Boston at bottom center, New York City at center, then looking at Philadelphia and beyond, seen on January 17, 2024 #

NASA

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Lightning strikes, seen in clouds above Saudi Arabia, on May 4, 2024. #

NASA

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Noctilucent clouds observed above the southern Pacific Ocean on February 10, 2024 #

NASA

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A night view of Beijing, China, seen on January 15, 2024 #

NASA

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A view of the moon's shadow crossing the Earth during a solar eclipse, seen over eastern Canada, on April 8, 2024 #

NASA

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The city of Dakar, Senegal, on the Cap-Vert peninsula. #

NASA

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Lake Powell, on the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona, seen from orbit on April 17, 2024 #

NASA

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A long exposure at night, as the ISS passes above parts of Russia and Europe #

NASA

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