Astronaut Photography

Tajikistan’s Fedchenko Glacier
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Tajikistan’s Fedchenko Glacier

The exceptionally long high-mountain glacier in Central Asia ranges from snowy white near the mountain peaks to dusty brown at lower elevations.

Published Nov 17, 2024

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Sandy Sculptures in Morocco’s Erg Chebbi
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Sandy Sculptures in Morocco’s Erg Chebbi

Windswept sand formations known as star dunes, or pyramid dunes, are a distinctive feature of the Sahara Desert in northern Africa.

Published Nov 10, 2024

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Crepuscular Rays and Cumulonimbus Clouds
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Crepuscular Rays and Cumulonimbus Clouds

Photographed from orbit at sunset, the rays of light penetrating gaps in the clouds span vast distances.

Published Nov 3, 2024

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Exploring Russia’s Krenitsyna Volcano
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Exploring Russia’s Krenitsyna Volcano

The volcano’s central peak, an island within an island, stands above a reflective, water-filled caldera.

Published Oct 27, 2024

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Madagascar’s Betsiboka River Delta
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Madagascar’s Betsiboka River Delta

The growing network of channels and islands now spans more than half of the estuary that was once open to ships.

Published Oct 20, 2024

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Meanders of the Irrawaddy River
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Meanders of the Irrawaddy River

River channels old and new wind across a floodplain in Burma (Myanmar), mingling with areas of agriculture and aquaculture.

Published Oct 13, 2024

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Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Arrives from Afar
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Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Arrives from Afar

A “dirty snowball” from the distant icy cloud encircling our solar system passed by the Sun and Earth in autumn 2024.

Published Oct 12, 2024

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Sprites, Camera, Action!
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Sprites, Camera, Action!

An astronaut photographed the atmospheric phenomenon, associated with lightning, during a stormy night over North America.

Published Oct 6, 2024

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Bends of the Alabama River
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Bends of the Alabama River

Reflected sunlight highlights the water’s surface and flooded zones near Gee’s Bend.

Published Sep 30, 2024

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Santiago at Night
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Santiago at Night

Lights in Chile’s central city display an array of colors and densities, reflecting various land uses and differences between the region’s communes.

Published Sep 22, 2024

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Bustling Beijing
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Bustling Beijing

China’s capital city boasts a diversity of structures, from its historic city center to the concentric roads and high-speed railway that surround it.

Published Sep 9, 2024

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Mexicali, Baja California
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Mexicali, Baja California

Urban and agricultural landscapes abut the U.S.–Mexico border in this part of the Sonoran Desert.

Published Aug 25, 2024

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North Dakota in Winter
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North Dakota in Winter

Mid-morning sunlight illuminated snow-covered farmland and cliffs along the Des Lacs River valley.

Published Aug 18, 2024

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Colorful São Francisco
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Colorful São Francisco

Bold hues paint the landscape around this Brazilian river.

Published Aug 4, 2024

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Lake Baikal at Night
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Lake Baikal at Night

From reflective snow and ice to the glowing towns along the Trans-Siberian Railway, nighttime near the world’s largest freshwater lake displays plenty of light.

Published Jul 28, 2024

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Earth’s Reflections on the Moon
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Earth’s Reflections on the Moon

Fifty-five years after our giant leap, scientists continue to learn about both the Moon and Earth from our celestial neighbor.

Published Jul 20, 2024

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Lightning Storm over Türkiye
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Lightning Storm over Türkiye

Flashes of light illuminated the textures of cloud tops during a nighttime storm over the region.

Published Jul 21, 2024

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Carving Canyons
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Carving Canyons

Erosion, tectonic uplift, and a human-built dam have all helped shape the Upper Lake Powell area in Utah.

Published Jul 14, 2024

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A Wide View of Tasmanian Terrain
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A Wide View of Tasmanian Terrain

The island is Australia's smallest state, but its mainland fills the frame of this astronaut photograph.

Published Jul 8, 2024

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A River Runs Through Fayzabad
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A River Runs Through Fayzabad

Flanked by mountains, the capital of the Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan lies along a sharp bend in a valley sculpted by the Kokcha River.

Published Jun 30, 2024

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Capes and Bays of the Makran Coast
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Capes and Bays of the Makran Coast

Uplift, erosion, and sea level rise all shape this part of Iran’s shoreline.

Published Jun 23, 2024

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South Keeling Atoll
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South Keeling Atoll

This U-shaped series of islets in the Indian Ocean rings a blue-green lagoon of varying depth.

Published Jun 16, 2024

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Kamchatka at Night
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Kamchatka at Night

Moonlit mountains and illuminated towns highlight geographic features on this sparsely populated Russian peninsula.

Published Jun 9, 2024

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Dunes and Desert Replace the Aral Sea
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Dunes and Desert Replace the Aral Sea

A former island and a desert are among the newcomers to the dry landscape following the lake’s rapid decline.

Published Jun 2, 2024

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Long Shadows of Mongolian Mountains
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Long Shadows of Mongolian Mountains

In central Asia, jagged mountain peaks rise high above the steppe.

Published May 26, 2024

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Farming on Fertile Land in France
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Farming on Fertile Land in France

Farmers grow a variety of crops along river floodplains near Lyon.

Published May 19, 2024

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Sundown and Lights Up Over the U.S. Northeast
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Sundown and Lights Up Over the U.S. Northeast

As sunlight waned, the glow of artificial light revealed patterns of urbanization along the populous corridor.

Published May 12, 2024

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Pangong Lake in Winter
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Pangong Lake in Winter

Months before the arrival of tourists and migrating birds, this high-elevation lake on the Tibetan Plateau was glazed with ice.

Published May 5, 2024

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Haze Meets the Sulaiman Mountains
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Haze Meets the Sulaiman Mountains

Clouds and haze crash into high-elevation ridges in this oblique photograph, taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station.

Published Apr 28, 2024

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Venezuela’s Ecological Islands
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Venezuela’s Ecological Islands

In the country’s southeast, towering table-top mountains known as tepuis host unique species of flora and fauna.

Published Apr 21, 2024

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