Nov 21, 2024 • 6 min read
The islands of the Caribbean Sea taken by an astronaut from inside the Cupola on the International Space Station © Nasa
NASA has released its top 20 images taken by the astronauts who lived and worked aboard the International Space Station (ISS) during 2020.
In November, the organization celebrated the 20th year of continuous human presence aboard the space station, which so far has hosted 242 people and more than 3000 science experiments.
"The men and women who live and work on the International Space Station take thousands of photographs of their home planet every year, and we asked the folks at the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at NASA’s Johnson Space Center for a few of their favorites from 2020," says Nasa. Here are some of the images with the captions, where provided, by NASA.
Cuba and the Bahamas (top image)
"Clouds trace out the islands of the Caribbean Sea in this photo taken by an astronaut from inside the Cupola on the International Space Station. Beyond the solar arrays and the docked Progress resupply vehicle, you can see the multi-toned waters of the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean frame the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and southern Florida." NASA
Paris
"Paris at night." NASA
Corsica and Sardinia
"Sunglint reflects off the Mediterranean Sea, highlighting the islands of Corsica and Sardinia in this photo taken as an astronaut was looking south from the International Space Station (ISS). The islands have rugged, mountainous terrain with small lakes that also reflect sunlight. Clouds are scattered throughout the photo, with some of those over the water aligning with changes in sunglint patterns." NASA
Ottawa, Canada
"An astronaut onboard the International Space Station shot this photo of peak fall colors around Ottawa, Canada." NASA
Great Australian Bight
"Sunrise over Great Australian Bight." NASA
All of the images are available to view on the the Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth website here.
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