Astronaut’s first photo of 2025 is a real stunner

By Trevor Mogg Published January 2, 2025

NASA astronaut Don Pettit has started 2025 with a stunning Earth photo that he described as a “New Year’s light show.”

Pettit captured the amazing image from the International Space Station (ISS), where he’s been living and working since September in his fourth trip to space.

It captures a stunning aurora over Earth, with parts of the orbital outpost also in the frame.

Our New Year’s light show pic.twitter.com/NB3gq8dxuf

— Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) January 2, 2025

Auroras are actually a fairly common phenomenon for astronauts aboard the space station, with increases in solar activity upping the chances of catching sight of one.

Auroras happen when particles from solar storms clash with gases in Earth’s atmosphere, resulting in beautiful light displays above the surface of our planet.

Folks back on terra firma can also witness the natural wonders. The ideal vantage points are in locations in the far north like Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. In the far south, places like New Zealand and Australia’s Tasmania can also offer great views of aurora.

But witnessing them with your own eyes from 250 miles above Earth must be something very special for astronauts on the space station.

And it’s no surprise that Pettit has managed to capture this one in such a beautiful image. The American astronaut has earned a solid reputation for his photography work over his various orbital missions since his first one in 2002.

In his most recent mission alone, he’s taken photos that make clouds look like a work of art, and rivers that Pettit described as “silver snakes.” Star trails are also one of his specialties.

With his keen eye, Pettit was also able to spot and photograph a SpaceX spacecraft as it returned to Earth at high speed at the end of the historic Polaris Dawn mission.

The astronaut recently discussed his photography work in an interview from the space station.

With Pettit expected to remain on the ISS until around March, we can’t wait to see what other amazing shots he shares during the first few months of 2025.