NASA astronaut Don Pettit has been busy with his camera again . The tornado lensman recently shared another stunning image , this one captured from the windowpane of a Crew Dragon spacecraft bob at the International Space Station ( ISS ) .
“ One picture with : Milkyway , Zodical [ sic ] light , Starlink satellites as streaks , genius as pin point , air on edge showing OH emission as burned umber ( my best-loved Crayon color ) , soon to arise sun , and metropolis at Nox as streaks , ” Pettit wrote in a post accompanying the photo .
One exposure with : Milkyway , Zodical light,@Starlinksatellites as bar , asterisk as pin points , air on bound showing OH expelling as burned umber ( my favorite Crayon color ) , soon to rise sun , and cities at Nox as streaks . Taken two days ago from Dragon Crew 9 vehicle port…pic.twitter.com/iCIXwgw9JB
& mdash ; Don Pettit ( @astro_Pettit)January 13 , 2025
worldly concern is well identified at the bottom of the picture , as are the many stars that dot the rest of the simulacrum . Look more closely , however , and you ’ll see a figure of run in the pitch blackness , which Pettit identifies asSpaceX Starlink satellitesthat provide internet connectivity to folks back on terra firma .
The Milky Way can also be see sweeping across the substance of the photo , while the zodiacal visible light that Pettit mention is the faint , diffuse glow that appears as a triangular or cone - shaped illumination . This ethereal phenomenon is have by sunlight scattering off interplanetary dust speck in our solar system .
Buckeye State emission , also known as hydroxyl airglow , is a born phenomenon that occurs in Earth ’s upper atmosphere , specifically in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region . It ’s characterize by the expiration of infrared radiation from excited hydroxyl ( OH ) molecules and can be seen lining Earth as a brownish color in Pettit ’s image .
With the ISS experiencing 16 daybreak and sunset a day , cosmonaut aboard the space - free-base laboratory are treated to an ever - change panorama .
Across his four space delegacy over the last 30 years , Pettit has realise a deserved reputation for his spectacular picture taking study , capturing sublime double of Earthand beyond .
The coming of societal media has allowed him to apportion his employment with a turn audience of lover who never quite knowwhat he ’s function to mail next .
Surprises from his current mission , which start out in September and runs through March , have included a remarkable blastoff of a Crew Dragon spacecraftreturning to Earth at high speedat the end of a mission . He alsomanaged to capture a Starship launchfrom SpaceX ’s Starbase land site in Texas when the ISS , through sheer fortune , passed overhead during liftoff .
