Astronaut Photography

Agricultural Patterns, Quebec
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Agricultural Patterns, Quebec

Is that a tapestry or an agricultural scene from Canada?

Published Jan 23, 2012

Image of the Day Land Human Presence

Two Earth Satellites Viewed From Houston
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Two Earth Satellites Viewed From Houston

The Moon and the International Space Station appear as neighbors, though they are 384,400 kilometers miles apart.

Published Jan 16, 2012

Image of the Day Atmosphere Human Presence

Emi Koussi and Aorounga, Chad
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Emi Koussi and Aorounga, Chad

Two neighboring craters in Africa had very different origins.

Published Jan 9, 2012

Image of the Day Land

Menindee Lakes, New South Wales, Australia
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Menindee Lakes, New South Wales, Australia

Ephemeral lakes grow with a fresh pulse of water in December 2011.

Published Jan 2, 2012

Image of the Day Land

Love and Joy for the New Year
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Love and Joy for the New Year

A comet rises into view from the east around the December solstice.

Published Jan 1, 2012

Image of the Day Atmosphere

Iberian Peninsula at Night
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Iberian Peninsula at Night

After dark, a fiesta of lights provides the outline for Spain and Portugal.

Published Dec 26, 2011

Image of the Day Land Human Presence

Do You See What They See
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Do You See What They See

Astronauts and Santa Claus have a similar view of the planet.

Published Dec 24, 2011

Image of the Day Remote Sensing

Lake Eyre Floods, South Australia
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Lake Eyre Floods, South Australia

Lake Eyre did something in 2011 that it doesn’t do very often: it took on new water.

Published Dec 19, 2011

Image of the Day Land

Dust Plume over the Bahia Blanca
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Dust Plume over the Bahia Blanca

Northwestern and central Argentina are subject to frequent dust storms, such as this one viewed in November 2011 from the ISS over South America.

Published Dec 12, 2011

Image of the Day Land Water Dust and Haze

South Shetland Islands and Antarctica
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South Shetland Islands and Antarctica

Astronauts on the ISS captured an unusual, airplane-like view of the Antarctic Peninsula and nearby islands.

Published Dec 5, 2011

Image of the Day Land Water

Snowfall on the Selenga River Delta, Russia
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Snowfall on the Selenga River Delta, Russia

The Selenga River Delta, which stretches out into Russia’s Lake Baikal, is carved by an intricate network of channels and levees and surrounded by marshlands.

Published Nov 28, 2011

Image of the Day Land Snow and Ice

Hovering on the Horizon
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Hovering on the Horizon

The limb of the Earth is a work of awesome beauty and a gift to science.

Published Nov 26, 2011

Image of the Day Atmosphere Remote Sensing

Israel-Egypt-Gaza border region
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Israel-Egypt-Gaza border region

A clearly visible line marks about 50 kilometers of the international border between Egypt and Israel.

Published Nov 21, 2011

Image of the Day Land Human Presence

Re-entry of Progress Spacecraft 42P
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Re-entry of Progress Spacecraft 42P

Astronauts captured this view of a Progress supply ship streaking across the sky as it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere.

Published Nov 14, 2011

Image of the Day Atmosphere Human Presence

Rowley Shoals, Timor Sea
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Rowley Shoals, Timor Sea

Rowley Shoals, a series of atolls off northwestern Australia, are popular with divers and fisherman interested in the hundreds of marine species.

Published Nov 7, 2011

Image of the Day Water

Crepuscular Rays, India
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Crepuscular Rays, India

Crepuscular rays stream through the clouds over India, providing scientific and spiritual inspiration.

Published Oct 31, 2011

Image of the Day Atmosphere

Midwestern USA at Night with Aurora Borealis
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Midwestern USA at Night with Aurora Borealis

When viewed from the International Space Station, the night skies are illuminated with light from many sources.

Published Oct 24, 2011

Image of the Day Atmosphere Human Presence

Parinacota Volcano, South America
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Parinacota Volcano, South America

Volcan Parinacota is a potentially active stratovolcano located on the Altiplano, a high plateau in the Andes mountains.

Published Oct 17, 2011

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Fires along the Rio Xingu, Brazil
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Fires along the Rio Xingu, Brazil

This astronaut photograph illustrates slash-and-burn forest clearing along the Rio Xingu (Xingu River) in the state of Matto Grasso, Brazil.

Published Oct 10, 2011

Image of the Day Land Human Presence

Bigach Impact Crater, Kazakhstan
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Bigach Impact Crater, Kazakhstan

Bigach Impact Crater in northeastern Kazakhstan is about five million years old—long enough to be reshaped by geologic process, erosion, and human activity.

Published Oct 3, 2011

Image of the Day Land

Hurricane Katia off the Northeastern US Coastline
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Hurricane Katia off the Northeastern US Coastline

Viewed from the space station, Hurricane Katia presented an impressive cloud circulation as its center passed the northeastern coast of the United States on September 9, 2011.

Published Sep 26, 2011

Image of the Day Atmosphere Water

Sand Dunes, Junggar Basin, Northwestern China
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Sand Dunes, Junggar Basin, Northwestern China

This photograph taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station highlights a sand dune field within the Burqin-Haba River-Jimunai Desert near the borders of China, Mongolia, Russia, and Kazakhstan.

Published Sep 19, 2011

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Melt Ponds, Petermann Ice Island
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Melt Ponds, Petermann Ice Island

Petermann Ice Island A still behaves like the massive ice sheet it left 14 months ago.

Published Sep 17, 2011

Image of the Day Water Snow and Ice

Owens Lake, California
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Owens Lake, California

California’s Owens Lake was once part of a much larger lake and river system during the Pleistocene Epoch (about 3 million to 12,000 years ago).

Published Sep 12, 2011

Image of the Day Life Human Presence

Wildfire Smoke Plumes over Texas
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Wildfire Smoke Plumes over Texas

This panoramic view of east-central Texas highlights numerous smoke plumes caused by wildfires burning across the state.

Published Sep 8, 2011

Image of the Day Atmosphere Land Fires

India-Pakistan Borderlands at Night
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India-Pakistan Borderlands at Night

Clusters of yellow lights on the Indo-Gangetic Plain reveal numerous cities large and small, as well as a border fence.

Published Sep 5, 2011

Image of the Day Land Human Presence

Northwestern Europe at Night
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Northwestern Europe at Night

Several of the oldest cities of northwestern Europe are highlighted in this nighttime astronaut photograph from August 10, 2011.

Published Aug 29, 2011

Image of the Day Land Human Presence

Kaliningrad, Baltic Sea, Russia
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Kaliningrad, Baltic Sea, Russia

This ISS photograph captures two great lagoons to the north and south of Kaliningrad, Russia: Vistula Lagoon and Kurshsky Bay.

Published Aug 22, 2011

Image of the Day Land

Looking Down on a Shooting Star
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Looking Down on a Shooting Star

Astronauts captured this unusual view of a Perseid meteor descending into Earth's atmosphere in August 2011.

Published Aug 17, 2011

Image of the Day Atmosphere

Island of Crete, Greece
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Island of Crete, Greece

Crete is the largest and most heavily populated island of Greece.

Published Aug 15, 2011

Image of the Day Land Human Presence