Stunning Moonrise Captured by NASA Astronaut Over Pacific from International Space Station

“Don’t worry if you’re making waves just by being yourself. The moon does it all the time.”

The moon, which looks like a pearl in the sky, possesses a beauty that cannot be defined. For those who love taking photos, the moon is one of the best subjects. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) regularly captures the cosmic beauty of our universe.

Recently, NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick captured a stunning image of the Earth’s natural satellite from the ISS. Matthew has been living above us in the International Space Station for over four months now, and in this picture, he captured the moon as it was setting over the Pacific Ocean.

Check out the Viral Moon Post:

He shared the picture on the social media platform X with the caption: “The moon setting over the Pacific. Went to the cupola to shoot Tropical Storm Hone near Hawaii but right after we passed by the storm the moon started to set. 400mm, ISO 500, 1/20000s shutter speed, f2.8, cropped, denoised.”

The viral image has garnered over 600,000 views and 7,000 likes, with people in the comments section praising this beautiful sight.

User Reactions to the Viral Moon Photo:

“Excellent detail for 400mm. Do I assume 1/20000 is a typo?”

“Incredibly sharp, especially considering you have to shoot through the windows on the cupola! Do you ever run into the issue of the windows affecting the sharpness of the images?”

“F/2.8? I’ve been shooting Nikon 400mm 2.8 lenses for decades. Granted, I’m not in space to view your perspective. I just see too much depth of field and clarity from the foreground clouds to the moon for this to be f2.8 on a fixed focal 400mm lens. Especially on a full-frame camera. It’s a great photograph nonetheless.”

“As an astrophotographer, that’s one amazing shot!”

“And to think it still takes nearly 3 days to reach the moon. The vastness of space is so humbling and so beautiful.”

A few days ago, the American space agency released a photo of moonrise taken from a "unique vantage point" inside the International Space Station. Captured by Mr Dominick, the image features a crescent-shaped moon above Earth's atmosphere. 

The planet appears as ocean-blue water, with "layers of orange and black appearing underneath the horizontal band of blue stretching across the centre of the image." The crescent moon is white and stands out against the blackness of space, according to the description provided by the US government organisation.