NASA astronaut captures Milky Way from International Space Station

NASA astronaut Jessica Meir captured a view of the Milky Way from the International Space Station’s cupola, sharing images and observations dated Wednesday, Sept. 16. From orbit, Meir documented a dense, southern-hemisphere Milky Way galaxy alongside colorful lightning and the bright blue and green lights of squid fishing boats. In her post, she described a short-exposure image set—an exposure series of three seconds—highlighting both the night-sky structure and the activity below. Meir also pointed out how the lights appeared in the series, including illumination along the coastlines of China, Thailand, and India.