Space

'False Dawn' Seen In Incredible Photo From Space

Could this be one of the best photos ever taken in space? NASA astronaut Don Pettit, an avid astrophotographer, used a long exposure to capture the amazing image from his vantage point 257 miles above Earth on the International Space Station.

Describing his picture on a Reddit page devoted to astrophotography, Pettit said: “"Single photo with: Milkyway, Zodiacal light, Starlink satellites as streaks, stars as points, atmosphere on edge showing OH emission as burned umber (my favorite Crayon color), faint red upper f-region, soon to rise sun, and cities at night as streaks lit by the nearly full moon. Taken this morning from Dragon Crew 9 vehicle port window.”

If you’re wondering what Zodiacal light is, it’s also known as false dawn. It refers to a faint, cone-shapped eerie white light glowing above the sunset or sunrise point on the horizon, and is caused by sunlight reflecting off dust particles left behind by comets.

Pettit went on to give the technical details of the gear he used and the settings and filters that were part of making this image so striking. If you speak camera tech enthusiast, here you go: “Nikon Z9, Sigma 14mm f1.4 lens, 15 seconds, f1.4, ISO 3200, adjusted Photoshop, levels, contrast, gamma, color, with homemade orbital sidereal drive to compensate for orbital pitch rate (4 degrees/sec).”

Here are a couple of Pettit's other incredible astrophotos, taken from previous trips up.

A view from the cupola of the International Space Station.
(Don Pettit/ NASA)

A view of the northern lights.
(Don Pettit/ NASA )

This segment originally appeared in today's edition of the Morning Brief newsletter. Sign up here to get weekday updates from The Weather Channel and our meteorologists.

Senior writer Chris DeWeese edits Morning Brief, The Weather Channel’s weekday newsletter.