NASA astronaut Don Pettit has began 2025 as he means to go on, with a surprising Earth photograph that he described as a “New Yr’s gentle present.”
Pettit captured the wonderful picture from the Worldwide Area Station (ISS), the place he’s been dwelling and dealing since September in his fourth journey to house.
It captures a surprising aurora over Earth, with elements of the orbital outpost additionally within the body.
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Our New Yr’s gentle present pic.twitter.com/NB3gq8dxuf
— Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) January 2, 2025
Auroras are literally a reasonably frequent phenomenon for astronauts aboard the house station, with will increase in photo voltaic exercise growing the probabilities of catching sight of 1.
Auroras occur when particles from photo voltaic storms conflict with gases in Earth’s environment, leading to lovely gentle shows above the floor of our planet.
People again on terra firma also can witness the pure marvel. The best vantage factors are in areas within the far north like Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Within the far south, locations like New Zealand and Australia’s Tasmania also can supply nice views of aurora.
However witnessing them with your individual eyes from 250 miles above Earth should be one thing very particular for astronauts on the house station.
And it’s no shock that Pettit has managed to seize this one in such an exquisite picture. The American astronaut has earned a stable repute for his pictures work over his numerous orbital missions since his first one n 2002.
In his most up-to-date mission alone, he’s taken photographs that make clouds look like a work of art, and rivers that Pettit described as “silver snakes.” Star trails are also one of his specialties.
Along with his eager eye, Pettit was additionally capable of spot and {photograph} a SpaceX spacecraft because it returned to Earth at high speed on the finish of the historic Polaris Daybreak mission.
The astronaut not too long ago mentioned his pictures work in an interview from the space station.
With Pettit anticipated to stay on the ISS till round March, we are able to’t wait to see what different wonderful photographs he shares throughout the first few months of 2025.
