Q&A: The Astronaut Who Captured Out-of-This-World Views of Earth [Slide Show]
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AT WORK IN THE ISS At work in the International Space Station’s Cupola module, Pettit gazes at Earth through a green-gold haze produced by oxygen atoms at the edge of the atmosphere.
AN ASSORTMENT An assortment of Pettit’s cameras float at the ready in the Cupola.
THE FAR-DISTANT TAIL The far-distant tail of Comet Lovejoy arcs above thunderstorms near Earth’s terminator, the planet’s dividing line between day and night.
THE ISS'S ROBOTIC CANADARM2 The ISS’s robotic Canadarm2 floats over the nighttime lights of Spain and the Strait of Gibraltar.
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THE BORDER TOWNS The border towns of El Paso, Texas, (above) and Juarez, Mexico, (below) can be distinguished by the layout of their sodium-vapor streetlights, with El Paso’s following a north-south/east-west grid in contrast to Juarez’s meandering roadways...
BASKING IN ORANGE AND BLUE Basking in orange and blue hues from sodium- and mercury-vapor lamps, the sprawling city of Cairo, Egypt, reflects a mix of ancient architecture and new urban planning. Can you find the Pyramids of Giza?...
CITIES AT NIGHT SMEAR OUT Cities at night smear out into streaks of light peppered by flashes of lightning in this time-lapse, fish-eye–lens view from the Cupola.
A VIEW OF RUSSIAN SOYUZ AND PROGRESS A view of Russian Soyuz and Progress spacecraft docked to the International Space Station as it soars over majestic auroral displays, thunderheads and streaks of city lights.
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PINWHEELING OVER A BLUR Pinwheeling over a blur of cities and storms below, stars appear to revolve around Earth’s axis of rotation in this time-lapse photograph gazing toward the planet’s north pole...
A SPECTRAL SELF-PORTRAIT Pettit snaps a spectral self-portrait in the eightfold reflections cast by light bouncing off the Cupola module’s quadruple-glazed windows.
