images of Earth taken by astronauts<\/a> aboard the International Space Station in 2025.<\/p>\n This year, 25 astronauts lived at the ISS to conduct research and complete maintenance. They also took thousands of photos.<\/p>\n
![\"Astronaut](\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg)
<\/p>\n
Astronaut Anne McClain during a space walk to upgrade the ISS’s power generation system and adjust an antenna for communications in May 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
From 250 miles above Earth, they witnessed jaw-dropping sights, such as the northern lights stretching across the horizon.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Clouds cover the Gulf of Alaska beneath the aurora borealis in March 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
Astronaut Don Pettit captured the Milky Way behind Earth’s atmospheric glow.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Pettit, who returned to Earth in April, used a camera with long-duration settings to take this image of the Milky Way from the ISS on January 29, 2025, according to NASA.<\/p>\n
NASA\/Don Pettit <\/p>\n
“Photographs help complete the story of what it means for human beings to expand into space and expand into this frontier,” Pettit said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Milky Way was photographed in August 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA\/JAXA <\/p>\n
This long-exposure photo by astronaut Nichole Ayers shows mesmerizing, illuminated arcs of star trails.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The photo was taken over 31 minutes in July 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA\/Nichole Ayers <\/p>\n
Using a handheld camera, Ayers also captured neon northern lights above the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The photo was taken as the ISS soared 269 miles above Australia and Antarctica in June 2025, NASA reported.<\/p>\n
NASA\/Nichole Ayers <\/p>\n
Her image of lightning above Milan looks like something out of a movie.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lightning above Milan as seen from the ISS in July 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA\/Nichole Ayers <\/p>\n
“I’m still amazed by every sunrise and every sunset that I get to see,” Ayers told Denver7. “I try to take as many pictures as I can so that we can share it with you all.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
New Year’s Day dawning on Cuba in January 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
Their views are incomprehensible to us on Earth. Here, they saw an orbital sunset \u2014 the last rays of the sun as the ISS slipped into Earth’s shadow.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The ISS’ Harmony module and robotic arm were photographed in front of an orbital sunset while above the southern Indian Ocean in August 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
Some of the views are far more recognizable, such as the (upside-down) boot of Italy next to the island of Sicily.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The boot of Italy and Sicily as seen from the ISS in September 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
Another unmistakable sight: Dubai’s manmade islands in the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dubai’s manmade islands were visible from the International Space Station in June 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
The sands of the Sahara Desert in Libya were seen behind an extending robotic arm in August.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The ISS’ Harmony module, with its robotic arm and hand, is seen above the Saharan Desert in August 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
Another photo looks down on Mount Damavand. At more than 18,000 feet, it’s the highest peak in Iran and the highest volcano in Asia.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mount Damavand, a dormant stratovolcano in Iran, was photographed from the ISS in May 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
Also visible from space is the Manicouagan crater, caused by a 3-mile-wide asteroid that crashed into what is now Quebec 214 million years ago.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The ISS flew over the Manicouagan crater in Quebec, Canada, in January 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
The lights of the Nile River, leading to Cairo, were captured as the ISS orbited 259 miles above Earth in July.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Nile River was photographed from the International Space Station at 1:32 a.m. local time.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
The river was also visible by day, as the ISS soared above the Mediterranean Sea.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The ISS above the Red Sea (right) and the Nile River (left) in September 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
An image shows the British Isles, upside down and brightly lit, with the northern coast of France in the background.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The bright lights of London are visible from the International Space Station in September 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
Astronauts also captured multiple scenes across the US, from Phoenix\u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Phoenix from the International Space Station in May 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
\u2026 and the San Francisco Bay Area \u2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The photograph taken by Ayers shows San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose in August 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA\/Nichole Ayers <\/p>\n
\u2026 to the fields of Kansas.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Fields in Great Bend, Kansas, were seen from the International Space Station in August 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
The Florida peninsula was captured in the early hours of a March morning …<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Florida peninsula and the eastern coast of the US from the ISS in March 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
\u2026 and during the day. Here, the tip of Florida is visible between Cuba and the Bahamas.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Florida (center), Cuba (left), and the Bahamas (right) seen from the ISS in May 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
Astronauts were witnesses to disasters that wreaked havoc on American communities, such as the Los Angeles wildfires in January.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Astronaut Don Pettit took images of smoke from the Los Angeles fires on January 10, 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA\/Don Pettit <\/p>\n
Impending disasters were also visible from space, such as Typhoon Halong, which inflicted devastation on Western Alaska in October.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The swirling clouds of Typhoon Halong, seen as a Category 4 storm south of Japan.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
They saw Hurricane Melissa, one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record, before it battered the Caribbean.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This image of Hurricane Melissa’s eye was captured as the ISS orbited south of Jamaica in October 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
Cyclone Alfred lurked near the coast of Queensland, Australia, several days before it crossed the mainland.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Cyclone Alfred, which drenched Brisbane, was photographed from the ISS on March 3, 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
Pettit said witnessing life-changing events with such a wide field of view “really changes the perspective of what you see.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Resembling a chiaroscuro painting, clouds were illuminated by lightning during a storm off the coast of North Carolina in May 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
The incredible photos add to the more than 7 million images that astronauts have sent back from the ISS since the first crew docked in 2000.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A Southeast Asian sunrise seen from the International Space Station in March 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
Source: Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth<\/a><\/p>\n The photos are valuable for monitoring changes on Earth and for aiding in disaster response.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sunshine bounces off the Atlantic Ocean in March 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
In November, NASA celebrated 25 years of “continuous human presence” aboard the ISS. Operations are scheduled to end around 2030.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The main solar arrays of the ISS looked violet as it orbited above New Zealand in September 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n
For now, astronauts’ front-row seat to Earth gives us a new perspective on life on our planet.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A waxing gibbous moon was photographed over the Atlantic Ocean in October 2025.<\/p>\n
NASA <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2025-12-31T15:01:14.404Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346260,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[90,416,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-346259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-science","tag-space","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346259\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346260"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}