Photography

The Colors of the World, Seen From the International Space Station

Recent photographs from crew members aboard the ISS show some spectacular views of auroras, moonsets, the Milky Way, and more, seen from from their vantage point in orbit.

By Alan Taylor

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Green and red streaks of light from an aurora appear above the Earth, seen from orbit, with part of the International Space Station visible at center.
Nichole Ayers / NASA
Green and red displays from the southern lights (aurora australis) appear above the Earth, seen from the orbiting International Space Station, south of Australia, on April 21, 2025.
Blue and purple flashes are seen as lightning strikes among cloud formations, seen from above at night.
Nichole Ayers / NASA
Lightning flashes among cloud formations above Indonesia, seen on June 22, 2025.
An orange glow appears above the Earth's horizon, seen from orbit, with stars and a small irregular galaxy in the background.
Don Pettit / NASA
The Large Magellanic Cloud appears among a starry backdrop above Earth’s atmospheric glow in this long-duration photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 260 miles above the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico on November 26, 2024.
Swirling formations in the shallow sea floor, seen from orbit
Nick Hague / NASA
Swirling formations in the shallow sea floor, seen in the Bahamas on October 20, 2024
Thrusters fire and green navigation lights shine from an approaching spacecraft.
Don Pettit / NASA
Thrusters fire while red and green navigation lights shine from the Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft as it approaches the ISS on September 29, 2024, carrying four new crew members.
The Great Salt Lake, seen from orbit, showing different-colored water in two sections.
Nichole Ayers / NASA
The differing colors of Utah’s Great Salt Lake, seen on August 3, 2025. Variations in the salinity of the lake water, which is separated roughly in half by a causeway, account for the differences in color.
Moonlight is reflected in the Mediterranean Sea, seen among the lights of Italy and other countries.
Anne McClain / NASA
Moonrise over the Mediterranean, seen on May 17, 2025
The Milky Way appears beyond Earth’s horizon, as the planet below appears beneath a slightly green glow.
Don Pettit / NASA
The Milky Way appears beyond Earth’s horizon in this photograph captured by NASA astronaut Don Pettit using a camera with low light and long duration settings, pointed out a window on the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft on January 29, 2025. The International Space Station was orbiting 265 miles above the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile just before sunrise.
Wildfires seen from orbit at night, through smoke, appearing as orange blotches.
Anne McClain / NASA
Massive wildfires in central Australia, seen through smoke and haze at night, on May 25, 2025
A green ribbon-like aurora lights up the sky, seen from orbit.
Nichole Ayers / NASA
A ribbon-like aurora lights up the sky on April 20, 2025, south of Australia.
Sparse clouds pass above sand dunes, seen from far above.
Nichole Ayers / NASA
Sparse clouds pass above sand dunes in the United Arab Emirates, seen on June 10, 2025.
The Milky Way appears in the vastness of space behind a docked spacecraft.
Matthew Dominick / NASA
The Milky Way appears in the vastness of space behind the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, docked to the Harmony module’s space-facing port on the International Space Station on June 30, 2024.
Many-colored lights streak past below, in a long-exposure image from the ISS.
Don Pettit / NASA
This long-duration photograph taken from the ISS as it orbited 259 miles above the Andaman Sea reveals the city lights of Southeast Asia and the typical green lights of the fishing boats underneath Earth’s atmospheric glow on March 26, 2025.
A bolt of lightning casts shadows and illuminates storm clouds from within.
Anne McClain / NASA
A powerful bolt of lightning casts shadows and illuminates storm clouds from within, over China, seen on July 3, 2025.
A small spacecraft, seen in orbit, with a vast blue ocean in the background.
JSC / NASA
The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft, carrying more than 6,000 pounds of science, supplies, and hardware, approaches the ISS above the Atlantic Ocean on November 5, 2024.
Peering through the window of a spacecraft, looking at a spectacular auroral light show.
Matthew Dominick / NASA
Peering through the window of the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft, the NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick captured this image of the SpaceX Dragon Freedom spacecraft as the lights of a vivid green and pink aurora swirled through Earth’s atmosphere above the Indian Ocean on October 7, 2024.
A nighttime view of the Earth, from orbit, with a bright blue-and-red bolt of electrical energy shooting up from a lightning strike in a storm below
Nichole Ayers / NASA
On July 3, 2025, the NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers captured this amazing image of a sprite, a rarely photographed weather phenomenon, as the ISS passed above a storm over Mexico. Ayers wrote: “Sprites are TLEs, or Transient Luminous Events, that happen above the clouds and are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms below.”
The sun glows and radiates light, appearing along Earth’s horizon, seen from orbit.
Don Pettit / NASA
The sun appears along Earth’s horizon, seen above the southern Pacific Ocean on October 7, 2024.
Lightning illuminates a storm cloud, seen from above.
Nichole Ayers / NASA
Lightning illuminates a storm cloud over Hong Kong, seen at night on May 3, 2025.
Low sunlight seen across dunes in the Sahara Desert, from high above
Don Pettit / NASA
Low sunlight is seen across dunes in the Sahara Desert on December 7, 2024.
A green and pink aurora seen from space
Don Pettit / NASA
A green and pink aurora, seen south of Australia on October 7, 2024
A new moon, seen near the Earth's horizon.
Matthew Dominick / NASA
The new moon sets behind Earth’s colorful but dimming atmosphere in this long-duration photograph taken by the NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick with a camera programmed for high sensitivity on September 4, 2024.
A long-exposure view of the lights of Earth and the stars above
Jeanette Epps / NASA
A long-exposure view of the lights of Earth and the stars above, seen on September 29, 2024
Lightning strikes in a small storm cloud near city lights, seen from orbit.
Don Pettit / NASA
Lightning strikes in a small storm cloud above Thailand, seen on October 27, 2024.
Lights streak past, seen in a long-exposure image as the ISS passes over the American Midwest.
Don Pettit / NASA
Lights streak past, seen in a long-exposure image as the ISS passes over the American Midwest on October 26, 2024.
A distant comet, seen passing near blue light at the Earth's horizon.
Don Pettit / NASA
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), roughly 44 million miles away from Earth in this photo, is viewed from the ISS on September 28, 2024.
An aurora glows beyond docked spacecraft and components of the International Space Station.
Don Pettit / NASA
An aurora glows beyond docked spacecraft and components of the International Space Station on October 10, 2024.

About the Author

Alan Taylor is a senior editor at The Atlantic.
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