'From city lights to orbital twilight': ISS shares breathtaking views of earth from space

Ever since the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) got access to the internet, they have kept people on earth engaged by sharing enchanting pictures and videos from outer space. Just recently, the ISS’s Instagram handles shared a series of four pictures that captured different parts of the earth at sunrise and sunset. “The Earth’s colors, from the city lights to the hues of an orbital sunrise, show just how vivid our planet is when viewed from the space station,” the station crew captioned the picture whilst sharing it online.  

In the first image, brightly lit islands of Mauritius and Reunion could be seen amidst pitch dark waters of the Indian Ocean. The second picture captures the sun’s glint beaming off the Tasman Sea on the southeastern coast of New South Wales, Australia. Meanwhile, the third picture shows the night lights of Italy during an orbital twilight. If one observes closely, one could see lights concentrated around the capital city of Rome. The last photograph shows mesmerising orange-pink-blue hues of an orbital sunrise in far eastern Asia.

'Always fascinating' 

Since sharing the pictures have taken the internet by storm and have been viewed by thousands of people across the World. Additionally, it has attracted thousands of others who’ve come together to express saw over the photographs. "DO NOT EVER STOP SHARING THESE PHOTOS BECAUSE THEY ARE ALWAYS FASCINATING. And they give a few moments of relief from everyday life," commented an Instagram user. Meanwhile, another wrote, "Thanks for sharing such a wonderful picture." It must feel surreal looking down on entire countries like that,' read the third comment. 

This comes as NASA recently shared a beautiful orbital image of Istanbul taken from the International Space Station (ISS). The US space agency captured the image on May 10 while it was orbiting 423 kilometres (263 miles) above the Black Sea. The image shared by NASA on Instagram shows the glowing night lights of one of Turkey's most famous cities split by the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. The US space agency while uploading the picture wrote, "Hey Istanbul. You're glowing!". According to the post, the photographs that astronauts regularly take from the ISS are not just for aesthetic purpose but they serve a scientific purpose. The space agency further mentioned that the image depicts how the planet is changing due to human-caused changes like urban growth and reservoir construction and natural dynamic events such as hurricanes, floods and volcanic eruptions. Take a look at the post. 

All Image: ISS/instagram