Astronaut Photography

First Recorded Eruption of Anatahan Volcano
Image

First Recorded Eruption of Anatahan Volcano

On the night of May 10, the Anatahan Volcano announced itself with a vigorous eruption that sent high-level ash over a wide area. About 12 hours later, on May 11 at 00:19 GMT, the crew of the International Space Station observed and photographed this ash plume, describing it as huge.

Published May 18, 2003

Image of the Day Atmosphere Land Volcanoes

Above and Under the Red Sea
Image

Above and Under the Red Sea

This unique photograph of shallow Red Sea waters off the coast of Saudi Arabia gives us a glimpse of both the coral reefs under the surface, and the texture and movements of surface waters. On the left side of the image we see through the water column to the reefs below the surface. On the right side of the image, the sun reflects off of microscopic oily films formed by a combination of natural biological sources and human activities on the sea surface. The films are concentrated by surface water movements and variably dampen surface capillary waves, which effect how the sun’s light is reflected. This creates patterns of brighter and darker reflections when viewed from orbit. These patterns trace the complex surface water dynamics along the coast.

Published May 11, 2003

Image of the Day Water

Sao Paulo, Brazil, at Night
Image

Sao Paulo, Brazil, at Night

A favorite activity of astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station is looking at the city lights below when the Station crosses the Earth’s dark side. The lights outline the densest population centers and coastlines, and suggest cultural patterns. Taking these low-light images using the equipment on board the Station has been challenging to the crew members because of the long exposure times required. Astronaut Don Pettit has pioneered an approach using a home-made tracking system to track the ground as it moves relative to the Station, allowing him to acquire long-exposure images under low light conditions. This image shows the sprawling urban footprint of São Paulo, Brazil, South America’s largest city with roughly 17 million people. The different colors (pink, white, and gray) define different types and generations of street lights.

Published May 4, 2003

Image of the Day Land Life Human Presence

Smog in the Northern Adriatic Sea
Image

Smog in the Northern Adriatic Sea

The boot of Italy crosses the image in this southwest-looking view taken by the crew of the International Space Station.

Published Apr 27, 2003

Image of the Day Atmosphere

A Danish Perspective
Image

A Danish Perspective

Taking advantage of remarkably fair weather over north central Europe for this time of year, an astronaut captured this panoramic view of Denmark.

Published Apr 20, 2003

Image of the Day Land

New York City and East Coast City Lights
Image

New York City and East Coast City Lights

Bright city lights along the coastline and interior delineate the eastern coast of the United States at night.

Published Apr 13, 2003

Image of the Day Land

Los Angeles at Night
Image

Los Angeles at Night

After sunset the borders of "The City of Angels" are defined as much by its dark terrain features as by its well-lit grid of streets and freeways.

Published Apr 6, 2003

Image of the Day Land Human Presence

Viewing Earth’s Limb
Image

Viewing Earth’s Limb

Some of the most breathtaking views of Earth taken from space are those that capture our planet’s limb.

Published Apr 2, 2003

Image of the Day Atmosphere

Lake Michigan Ice
Image

Lake Michigan Ice

In 2003 a colder than normal North American winter saw the entire surface areas of Lakes Superior, Huron, and Erie frozen over for the first time in years. Although the open surface waters of Lake Michigan did not freeze this season, the southern portion experienced a higher than normal amount of ice. Winds and currents drove broken pieces of ice from the north to the south. This image taken from the International Space Station shows a number of large pieces of ice collected along and just off the shoreline southwest of Benton Harbor, Michigan. Smaller pieces trail northward offshore from Chicago, Illinois. Note the ice accumulation along the entire eastern shoreline of Lake Michigan as well as the wind-drive lake-effect snow cover over the western half of the lower Michigan Peninsula.

Published Mar 30, 2003

Image of the Day Water Snow and Ice

Page, Arizona
Image

Page, Arizona

This isolated community near the northern Arizona border is of special interest because of its origin and location. Unlike other towns in the area, Page was created in 1957 to house workers and their families during the construction of nearby Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River. Its 17-square-mile site was obtained in a land exchange with the Navajo Indian tribe. The town is perched atop Manson Mesa at an elevation of 4,300 feet above sea level and 600 feet above Lake Powell.

Published Mar 23, 2003

Image of the Day Land

Buenos Aires at Night
Image

Buenos Aires at Night

Buenos Aires is one of the larger cities seen by orbiting crews. Twelve million people, almost one third of all Argentines, live in this city, often called the “Paris of the South”.

Published Mar 16, 2003

Image of the Day Land Life

Southern Sierra Nevada and Owens Lake
Image

Southern Sierra Nevada and Owens Lake

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station looked obliquely down at the steep eastern flank of California’s Sierra Nevada. Even from space the topography is impressive. The range drops nearly 11,000 feet from Mt. Whitney (under cloud, arrow), the highest mountain in the lower 48 states (14,494 ft), to the floor of Owens Valley (the elevation of the town of Lone Pine is 3,760 ft). The Sierra Nevada landscape is well known for deep, glacially scoured valleys, like Kern Canyon west of Mt. Whitney.

Published Mar 9, 2003

Image of the Day Land

London by Night
Image

London by Night

This nighttime view of the British capital offers unique insight into the city’s urban density and infrastructure as highlighted by electrical lighting. Interpreting the brightest areas as the most populated, the population density drops off rapidly from the bright urban center until it reaches the vicinity of the Orbital, an encircling roadway.

Published Feb 23, 2003

Image of the Day Land Life

Society Islands, French Polynesia
Image

Society Islands, French Polynesia

In one frame International Space Station astronauts were able to capture the evolution of fringing reefs to atolls. As with the Hawaiian Islands, these volcanic hot spot islands become progressively older to the northwest. As these islands move away from their magma sources they erode and subside.

Published Feb 16, 2003

Image of the Day Land Water

Australian Bushfires
Image

Australian Bushfires

The crew of the International Space Station took this dramatic image of the fires on the morning of January 18, 2003. Brisk winds are sweeping smoke plumes eastward off the Australian coast north of Cape Howe.

Published Feb 9, 2003

Image of the Day Land

Mashhad, Iran
Image

Mashhad, Iran

With a population of just over two million, Mashhad is Iran’s second-largest city. It is located in the Kashaf River valley near the northeast corner of the country, not far away from the borders of Turkmenistan and Afganistan. Besides being the capital and center of commerce for Khorasan province, Mashhad is tourist center as well as a site of pilgrimage for millions to the shrine of martyred Shi’ate Imam Reza. The crew of STS-107 acquired this snow-enhanced image just after noon (local time) on January 21, 2003. Note how little snow is visible in the urbanized areas and the discoloration of snow in the surrounding area, probably due to wind-borne smoke generated by fuel burning in the city.

Published Feb 1, 2003

Image of the Day Land

Crater Lake, Oregon
Image

Crater Lake, Oregon

Crater Lake, a volcanic caldera in South Central Oregon’s Cascade Mountains, boasts breathtaking scenery, created about 7,700 years ago with the volcanic eruption and subsequent collapse of the summit of Mt. Mazama.

Published Jan 26, 2003

Image of the Day Land

Classroom in Space
Image

Classroom in Space

The above photo of the International Space Station was taken by an astronaut aboard the space shuttle on April 17, 2002. Although its construction is not yet complete, Space Station Alpha began operations in November 2000. It now serves as home to three astronauts as well as dozens of already ongoing science experiments.

Published Jan 25, 2003

Image of the Day Atmosphere

Baltimore with a Dusting of Snow
Image

Baltimore with a Dusting of Snow

While traveling to the International Space Station aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor, astronauts photographed the northeastern United States blanketed in fresh snow. This image, taken in early December 2002, shows the city of Baltimore and the surrounding area. An inset shows the center of the city (rotated so north points up).

Published Jan 19, 2003

Image of the Day Land Snow and Ice

Kharg Island, Iran
Image

Kharg Island, Iran

Kharg Island is Iran’s primary oil export terminal in the Persian Gulf. This rocky limestone island is unique because it is one of the few islands in the Persian Gulf with freshwater which has collected within the porous limestone. In addition to its commercial and strategic importance, the freshwater has biological importance, supporting populations of gazelles. This high-resolution photograph taken by astronauts on board the International Space Station shows detail of the tanker dock facilities, tanks and other infrastructure. Sunglint on the surface of the water highlights small amounts of oil on the sea surface and reveals the direction of the local currents.

Published Jan 12, 2003

Image of the Day Land Water

Old Havana, Cuba
Image

Old Havana, Cuba

he red tile roofs and historic buildings of Cuba’s Old Havana appear distinctly in this high-resolution photograph taken by astronauts on board the International Space Station.

Published Jan 5, 2003

Image of the Day Land

Plankton Blooms, Capricorn Channel
Image

Plankton Blooms, Capricorn Channel

This image captures a plankton bloom in the Capricorn Channel off the Queensland coast of Australia. The whispy pattern of the bloom suggests that the plankton are Trichodesmium—a photosynthetic cyanobacteria, also called “sea saw dust” that is common in the world’s oceans. Trichodesmium is frequently observed around Australia this time of year. In fact, Captain Cook’s ship logs written while he was sailing in Australian waters in the 1700s contain detailed descriptions of Trichodesmium blooms. Astronauts frequently photograph large plankton blooms during their missions because a significant portion of the ISS orbits cross long stretches of ocean. In the process, astronauts become acute observers of subtle changes in sea surface dynamics. Imagery of surface plankton blooms offer multi-dimensional (in space and time) visualizations of the unique physical and chemical circumstances that support the blooms.

Published Dec 29, 2002

Image of the Day Life Water

The Acropolis, Athens, Greece
Image

The Acropolis, Athens, Greece

This high-resolution photograph taken by astronauts on board the International Space Station shows details of Athens’ historic ruins. The detail panel shows actual pixels for the area of the Acropolis—some of the most distinctive features are the Parthenon, and Odeum of Herodes Atticus.

Published Dec 22, 2002

Image of the Day Land Life

Emi Koussi Volcano, Chad, North Africa
Image

Emi Koussi Volcano, Chad, North Africa

Emi Koussi is a high volcano that lies at the south end of the Tibesti Mountains in the central Sahara in northern Chad. The volcano is one of several in the Tibesti massif, and reaches 3415 m in altitude, rising 2.3 kilometers above the surrounding sandstone plains. The volcano is 65 kilometers wide. This view of the Emi Koussi caldera is detailed to the point that it doesn’t include the entire 10-kilometer diameter of the caldera, but reveals individual lava strata within the walls of the summit cliffs. Nested within the main caldera is a smaller crater that contains white salts of a dry lake at its lowest point. Here too, strata are visible in the walls of the smaller crater. The smaller crater is surrounded by a region of darker rocks—a geologically young dome of lava studded with several small circular volcanic vents.

Published Dec 8, 2002

Image of the Day Land

Lake Tandou, New South Wales, Australia
Image

Lake Tandou, New South Wales, Australia

Sections of Australia have been experiencing their worst drought in 100 years. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station documented conditions in Australia in 2002, including these images of Lake Tandou in the Menindee Lake system along the Darling River. The Menindee Lakes are part of an innovative water conservation project. This lakebed is protected from flooding and is used for agriculture—primarily cotton, sunflower and grains. It is one of several interconnected lakes that sit along the lower Darling River like a string of pearls. Other lakes function as water capture reservoirs to support controlled water flow for environmental and agricultural needs down river, and to provide flood mitigation.

Published Dec 1, 2002

Image of the Day Land

Mining and Agriculture in Kazakhstan
Image

Mining and Agriculture in Kazakhstan

Agricultural activities and mining occur side-by-side in the Republic of Kazakhstan. This scene is located in the Turgayskaya Oblast of central Kazakhstan, near the provincial capital of Arkalyk, where Russian spacecraft landings occur.

Published Nov 24, 2002

Image of the Day Land Life

Mt. Elbrus, Caucasus Range
Image

Mt. Elbrus, Caucasus Range

The Caucasus Mountains form a long (more than 1200 kilometers) and steep spine connecting the Black Sea to the Caspian. Mt. Elbrus, the summit of the Caucasus Mountains, is located in southern Russia just north of the Georgian border, and is distinguished as Europe’s highest peak (5642 m). Elbrus is also an ancient volcano, although it has not erupted for nearly 2000 years. Elbrus’s profile comprises two volcanic peaks (East and West). They are popular trekking and mountain climbing destinations—the saddle between them provides access to the region. In mid-September, the Russian and American crew aboard the International Space Station viewed Mt. Elbrus’s glaciated landscape as part of a study by Russian glaciologists. Elbrus is located west of the recent glacier slide on Mt. Kazbek, another giant peak in the Caucasus Mountains.

Published Nov 10, 2002

Image of the Day Land

Key West
Image

Key West

Turquoise blue waters, coral reefs and sandy beaches were apparently on the minds of International Space Station astronauts last week. As they passed over the Florida Keys, they acquired a sequence of images from Key West eastward along the outer keys. The detail of the images showcases the clarity of the Caribbean waters, and allows for mapping of both land use and shallow marine features. This image of Key West shows the intensive built-up area of the town, the offshore sand flats and grassbeds surrounding Key West, the patterns of natural tidal channels and artificially dredged channels that allow boat access to the local marinas.

Published Nov 3, 2002

Image of the Day Water

Space Shuttle view after Kolka Glacier Collapse
Image

Space Shuttle view after Kolka Glacier Collapse

While docked to the Space Station the international crew of Space Shuttle Mission STS-112 paused as the spacecraft sped over the Caucasus Range. They had planned before launch that a crewmember would look out the windows of the spacecraft for remnants of the disastrous collapse of Kolka Glacier. The close collaboration between the USA and Russia on all aspects of Space Station construction, and the presence on the Shuttle crew of Russian mission specialist Fyodor Yurchikhin, made the crew particularly interested in photographing the area to help scientists on the ground in their studies of the collapse. There is a dramatic difference between this digital photograph taken by the Shuttle crew and one taken just a week before the collapse by the International Space Station crew.

Published Oct 27, 2002

Image of the Day Land Snow and Ice