Astronaut Photography

Eastern Canada, Day and Night
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Eastern Canada, Day and Night

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station took these midwinter panoramas of the St. Lawrence River and surrounding cities.

Published Feb 16, 2015

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Memphis, Tennessee
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Memphis, Tennessee

Set on bluffs above the muddy, flood-prone Mississippi River, the city has long been a crossroads of water-borne and land transportation in the heartland of America.

Published Feb 9, 2015

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India by Night and Day
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India by Night and Day

Two photos, taken 48 years apart, provide contrasting views of southern Asia.

Published Jan 26, 2015

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The Electric Eye of Cyclone Bansi
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The Electric Eye of Cyclone Bansi

Lightning illuminated the center of the storm as the space station flew over at night.

Published Jan 25, 2015

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Gulf of Taranto
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Gulf of Taranto

Sediment and runoff plumes highlight the coast at the base of Italy’s boot.

Published Jan 19, 2015

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Cancún, Mexico
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Cancún, Mexico

A long lens was used by astronauts aboard the space station to take this photograph of the many natural and built features around this Mexican tourist mecca.

Published Jan 12, 2015

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Plume from the Fraser River
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Plume from the Fraser River

British Columbia's longest river delivers sediment and nutrients to the Strait of Georgia.

Published Jan 7, 2015

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Stable Fedchenko
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Stable Fedchenko

Precipitation increases and a layer of debris on the terminus have helped maintain the longest mid-latitude glacier.

Published Jan 5, 2015

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Marzuq Sand Sea, Libya
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Marzuq Sand Sea, Libya

This sand sea is one of the most recognizable features for orbiting astronauts, partly because they see it often through cloudless Saharan skies.

Published Dec 29, 2014

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Rising in the East
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Rising in the East

The cradle of three major religions—and of much of modern civilization—was captured in this photograph by an astronaut on the International Space Station.

Published Dec 24, 2014

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Chicago and Its Loop
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Chicago and Its Loop

A photograph from the space station shows some of the natural features that have governed the growth of the city.

Published Dec 22, 2014

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Italy at Night
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Italy at Night

The easily recognized boot of Italy is spread across this panorama taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

Published Dec 15, 2014

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The Rocky Mountain Trench
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The Rocky Mountain Trench

As seen from the International Space Station, a long trench divides the Columbia Mountains and the Canadian Rockies.

Published Dec 13, 2014

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An Expanse of White in Bolivia
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An Expanse of White in Bolivia

The evaporation of several prehistoric lakes contributed to the formation of Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat.

Published Dec 9, 2014

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Central Saudi Arabia: Riyadh and dunes
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Central Saudi Arabia: Riyadh and dunes

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station took this photograph when the desert center of Arabia was partly obscured by a dusty atmosphere.

Published Dec 8, 2014

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Amazon River in Sunglint
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Amazon River in Sunglint

Astronauts use the Sun’s reflection point to reveal features that are otherwise difficult or impossible to see.

Published Dec 1, 2014

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Anvil on the Horizon
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Anvil on the Horizon

As moisture-filled thunderhead clouds expand upward through the atmosphere, they can hit a more stable layer and flatten into an anvil shape.

Published Nov 24, 2014

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Florida at Night
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Florida at Night

The peninsula is highly recognizable even at night, especially when looking north, as our map-trained brains expect.

Published Nov 17, 2014

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Smog or Fog? Actually, a Bit of Both
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Smog or Fog? Actually, a Bit of Both

A photograph by an astronaut leads us to a teachable moment about what’s in our air.

Published Nov 11, 2014

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El Paso and Ciudad Juárez
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El Paso and Ciudad Juárez

This astronaut photograph shows these sister cities on the Rio Grande, the second largest metropolitan area on the Mexico–U.S. border.

Published Nov 10, 2014

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Fire Scar and Dune Shapes, Southeastern Australia
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Fire Scar and Dune Shapes, Southeastern Australia

Recent fires burned away the vegetation cover of desert scrub to reveal a sheet of white sand and barchan dune patterns.

Published Nov 3, 2014

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Inland Delta of the Niger River
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Inland Delta of the Niger River

For millennia, the river has been the most important water supply in the western Sahara Desert.

Published Oct 27, 2014

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Kansas City Metropolitan Area
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Kansas City Metropolitan Area

The hometown of a 2014 World Series contender is brimming with baseball history.

Published Oct 25, 2014

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Southwestern USA at Night
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Southwestern USA at Night

This wide-angle panorama shows a huge swath of the western United States from Portland to Phoenix.

Published Oct 20, 2014

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The Many Colors of Electric Lights
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The Many Colors of Electric Lights

Distinct colors mark the communities and commerce along the Tsushima Strait, between Japan and South Korea.

Published Oct 19, 2014

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Egmont National Park, New Zealand
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Egmont National Park, New Zealand

This protected area on North Island is centered around a volcano and sits on a promontory that juts out into the Tasman Sea.

Published Oct 13, 2014

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The Persian Gulf, Clear and Clouded
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The Persian Gulf, Clear and Clouded

Two images show the region before and during a vast a dust storm.

Published Oct 6, 2014

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Amazon Forest Fires
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Amazon Forest Fires

Astronauts caught a glimpse of rainforest being cleared for agriculture in Brazil.

Published Sep 22, 2014

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Dust and Clouds Dance Over the Sahara
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Dust and Clouds Dance Over the Sahara

A massive dust storm filled the skies over Libya in early September 2014.

Published Sep 21, 2014

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Keeping an Eye on Edouard
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Keeping an Eye on Edouard

Researchers are deploying a mix of airborne and orbiting tools to unlock secrets of the most potent storms on Earth.

Published Sep 20, 2014

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