From a vantage point 250 miles above Earth, NASA astronaut Don Pettit has captured a breathtaking image of London’s dazzling night lights. Pettit, at 69 years old, is NASA’s oldest active astronaut and is currently on his fourth mission to the International Space Station (ISS). He shared the photo on X (formerly Twitter), simply captioning it, “London sparkling at night.”
Pettit, an avid photographer, used a Nikon Z9 to capture this stunning image, using a 200mm focal length, f2 aperture, 1/320 sec speed, and ISO 25600. This isn’t his first spectacular photo from space. Just days after arriving at the ISS, Pettit captured an extraordinary image of the Polaris Dawn spacecraft re-entering Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, carrying four astronauts back from a historic five-day mission.
Throughout his previous space missions, Pettit has consistently amazed with his captivating photographs, showcasing his talent for capturing the beauty of Earth from orbit. His social media followers can look forward to an ongoing stream of captivating images as he continues his six-month mission. Pettit is renowned for his dramatic star trail images, like one he captured in 2012 using a Nikon D3s with a 24mm lens, achieved by stacking multiple 30-second exposures.
He’s also known for his near-infrared images, like the one he took in 2012, depicting a vibrant river delta teeming with flora in bright magenta, nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains. This photo was captured using a modified Nikon D3s with a 180mm lens set at f/4.5 and ISO 400.
While many astronauts are content to simply gaze out at the breathtaking scenery from the ISS, some, like Pettit, Matthew Dominick, and Thomas Pesquet, are passionate about capturing these views with their cameras. And we are truly grateful for their efforts, allowing us to experience the awe-inspiring beauty of our planet from their unique perspective.
