NASA shares majestic images of orbital sunrise from ISS

NASA has shared a set of stunning images showing an orbital sunrise from the International Space Station (ISS).

The four photos, which NASA Johnson posted on its Twitter account on Thursday, March 17, show the sun emerging over Earth’s horizon.

“The first rays of an orbital sunrise illuminate the Earth’s atmosphere in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 above the Pacific Ocean south of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula,” NASA Johnson said in comments alongside the same images on its Flickr account.

An orbital sunrise is seen from the Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above the Pacific Ocean on Feb. 22, 2022. For more photos, visit https://t.co/UrTZQGt9OI pic.twitter.com/LN3mN8EFOu

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) March 17, 2022

The impressive photos were captured using one of several professional DSLR cameras aboard the space station, in this case a Nikon D4 with a 28-300mm lens, though NASA Johnson doesn’t say which astronaut took them.

The ISS takes just 90 minutes to orbit Earth, so there are plenty of sunrises — 16 per day — for the station’s crew to enjoy.

While ISS astronauts spend most of their time working on science experiments, they also like to gaze out of the station’s Cupola module whenever they have a chance.

The seven-window module offers sweeping views of Earth and beyond, and is one the most popular spots on the station for capturing photos of our planet.

Recent space station inhabitant Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency earned a reputation for snapping stunning Earth shots during his six-month mission. But capturing something special is harder than you might imagine, with busy work schedules and cloud cover two such obstacles to getting great shots.

Indeed, Pesquet had to put in a great deal of effort to give himself the best chance of capturing so-called “keepers.”

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