Astronaut Photography

Beauty Carved by Nature’s Violence
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Beauty Carved by Nature’s Violence

Ash, pumice, and steam shaped the landscape around Katmai and Novarupta.

Published Oct 27, 2019

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Night Lights Can Disrupt Wildlife
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Night Lights Can Disrupt Wildlife

A new study shows that nocturnal animals are less active when the nights are too bright with electric lighting.

Published Oct 24, 2019

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A Trail of Night Lights
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A Trail of Night Lights

This composite image was made from more than 400 photos taken as the International Space Station traveled from Namibia toward the Red Sea.

Published Oct 20, 2019

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High Points of the Sierras
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High Points of the Sierras

Trails up Mount Whitney and across Forester Pass give hikers access high into the California mountain range.

Published Oct 15, 2019

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Rapeseed Agriculture, Kursk Oblast
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Rapeseed Agriculture, Kursk Oblast

Yellow flowers brighten the landscape of southwestern Russia.

Published Oct 13, 2019

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Smoke Filled Canyons, Arizona
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Smoke Filled Canyons, Arizona

During morning and evening hours, dense smoke often settles in low-lying areas and becomes trapped due to temperature inversions.

Published Oct 4, 2019

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Simpson Desert, Australia
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Simpson Desert, Australia

Fantastic dunes stand alongside one of the world’s largest internally draining river systems.

Published Sep 29, 2019

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Clear Skies Over Alaska
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Clear Skies Over Alaska

Views of mainland Alaska from the ISS are uncommon due to frequent cloud cover and the limits of the ISS orbit trajectory.

Published Sep 22, 2019

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South Pacific Swirl
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South Pacific Swirl

Low Sun angles enhance certain wavelengths of light, painting the atmosphere over a distant patch of ocean.

Published Sep 12, 2019

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Punta Banda, Baja California
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Punta Banda, Baja California

Fishing is an integral part of the economy for this region, which also attracts whales and tourists.

Published Sep 8, 2019

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Mount Rainier
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Mount Rainier

The tallest mountain of the Cascade Range is a Pacific Northwest icon.

Published Sep 4, 2019

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The Smoke that Thunders
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The Smoke that Thunders

Although not the highest or longest falls in the world, Victoria Falls is the world’s largest sheet of falling water.

Published Sep 1, 2019

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Sunglint on Turkmenbashi Gulf
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Sunglint on Turkmenbashi Gulf

The complex patterns are due to waves, winds, the presence of oils or surfactants, and the presence of boats and drilling platforms.

Published Aug 25, 2019

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The Cape of Good Hope
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The Cape of Good Hope

Originally named the Cape of Storms, it was later renamed to Good Hope in order to attract more people to the Cape Sea Route.

Published Aug 18, 2019

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A Misty Morning in the Mountains
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A Misty Morning in the Mountains

A glorious winter morning view greeted astronauts as they passed over the rugged peaks of Peru’s Cordillera Blanca.

Published Aug 11, 2019

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The St. Louis Hub
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The St. Louis Hub

Roads, railways, and a mighty river meet in this longtime trading hub of the central United States.

Published Aug 4, 2019

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Cloudy Sulawesi
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Cloudy Sulawesi

The International Space Station was crossing over the equator when an astronaut looked east and took this photo just after a sunrise.

Published Jul 28, 2019

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Same Islands, Two Views
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Same Islands, Two Views

These two images of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, taken from different directions, give a sense of the astronaut flight experience.

Published Jul 21, 2019

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An Eagle Takes Off for Home
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An Eagle Takes Off for Home

When the Apollo 11 astronauts left the surface of the Moon on July 21, 1969, they brought home samples of solar wind particles, lunar rocks and dirt, and a big helping of perspective.

Published Jul 20, 2019

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Florida’s Rocks and Rocketeers
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Florida’s Rocks and Rocketeers

Most of the state’s land surface overlies thick limestone deposits that have been transformed into a distinct aquifer system.

Published Jul 16, 2019

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Long View of the Mississippi River Delta
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Long View of the Mississippi River Delta

The river drains water and sediment from 31 U.S. states, delivering both to the Gulf of Mexico via the Atchafalaya and Mississippi River deltas.

Published Jul 5, 2019

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Roseburg, Oregon
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Roseburg, Oregon

Timber production has etched a checkerboard pattern in the forests surrounding the town.

Published Jun 30, 2019

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Raikoke Erupts
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Raikoke Erupts

An unexpected series of blasts from a remote volcano in the Kuril Islands sent ash and volcanic gases streaming high over the North Pacific Ocean.

Published Jun 24, 2019

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Viewing Venus from the Space Station
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Viewing Venus from the Space Station

With sixteen sunrises and sunsets, astronauts have a lot of chances to see our nearest solar system neighbor.

Published Jun 23, 2019

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Ship Tracks, Aleutian Islands
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Ship Tracks, Aleutian Islands

Exhaust creates cloud lines that trace the curved trajectories of ships.

Published Jun 16, 2019

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Amistad Reservoir
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Amistad Reservoir

When full, the lake is the second largest in Texas.

Published Jun 9, 2019

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Flathead Lake, Montana
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Flathead Lake, Montana

Located within the Rocky Mountain Trench, it is one of the largest freshwater lakes west of the Mississippi River.

Published Jun 2, 2019

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Northern California Coastline
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Northern California Coastline

The climate of Humboldt County is persistently wet, with legendary fog that has helped the trees and the military.

Published May 26, 2019

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Glint of the Irrawaddy Delta
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Glint of the Irrawaddy Delta

Sunlight traces the mouth of one of Asia’s great rivers—a major artery for commercial and sediment transport.

Published May 19, 2019

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A Wide View of Luzon
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A Wide View of Luzon

Astronauts caught a rare, mostly clear glimpse of the largest island in the Philippines.

Published May 12, 2019

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