Just… just watch it: Wow. Now that’s an interesting view! Looking north as the ISS passed southeast over North America on the night of October 18, we get a really great perspective on our planet as a globe spinning in space! Which, of course, it is. Not to mention an awesome view of the aurora…
Tag: orbit
Into The Darkness
The rugged terrain of Mercury’s north pole is made clear in this image from MESSENGER, taken on June 17, 2011. The shallow angle of sunlight striking the surface of our solar system’s innermost planet sends shadows across its landscape and highlights every rise and ridge. This scene shows an area about 74 miles across. MESSENGER…
A Glow From Above
Many of the recent images and videos I’ve shared here have featured amazing views from the Space Station. At 250 miles up, astronauts aboard the ISS enjoy an unprecedented and privileged view of our world. In addition to having a vantage point from which to view the countries, continents and oceans below, they also get…
Goodnight Moon
Another stunning view from the Space Station, this photo was taken by Expedition 28 astronaut Ron Garan on July 31, 2011 and shows the Moon seeming to sink into the ocean of air that is our life-supporting atmosphere. As the Moon passes behind Earth’s limb it appears to get squished because of light being refracted…
On Top of the World
In what may be the best single representation of the visual feast of images we have enjoyed from Expedition 28 flight engineer Ron Garan during his 5 1/2 month stay aboard the ISS, this amazing image shows him inside the Station’s cupola as he took his last images of Earth before departing. I must say,…
As The World Turns
Today is the autumnal equinox, when the Earth receives sunlight at its most direct angle relative to its equator and poles. As Earth orbits around the Sun over the course of a year, its axial tilt causes the angle of solar illumination to change – a predictable and regular change, but a change nonetheless. This…
Around the World in 60 Seconds
Want to blow your mind? Watch this: Now watch it 14 more times for an idea of what the astronauts aboard the ISS get to see every day. No wonder after five months up there they still don’t want to come down! This gorgeous video was made by science teacher James Drake using images downloaded from…
Daphnis in Full Color
If you’ve been following along with Lights in the Dark since the beginning, you may know that this is one of my favorite subjects of space imagery: the shepherd moon Daphnis, traveling in its orbit around Saturn within the 26-mile-wide Keeler Gap. Recently color-calibrated by Gordan Ugarvovic, this is a true-color version of an image…
Space Mountain
Colombia’s Pico de Cristobal Colon rises into the sky in this beautiful photo taken on July 9 by Ron Garan, a NASA astronaut and Expedition 27 flight engineer aboard the International Space Station. Pico de Cristobal Colon (Spanish for “Christopher Columbus’ Peak) is the highest mountain in Colombia and the fifth most prominent in the…
Dawn: Orbit Established!
It’s confirmed: Dawn has entered orbit around the asteroid Vesta! The spacecraft, which launched in September 2007, has been steadily approaching the giant asteroid for several months. Its mission is to orbit Vesta for a year, studying its surface and composition, and then push off toward the even larger asteroid Ceres. Actually classified as a…
Take a Spin Around the Station
Awesome new images of the Space Station and Endeavour taken from orbit!
When We Left Earth
“It’s tiny out there…it’s inconsequential. It’s ironic that we had come to study the Moon and it was really discovering the Earth.” – Bill Anders, Apollo 8 astronaut When We Left Earth is a fantastic six-part series by Discovery Channel that features hours of new footage from NASA and interviews with many of those personally…
Lights in the Dark 