12 votes

Photographs from ISS not of Earth?

Posted by f700gs
Tags: ask.recommendations, space stations, international space station, photography.astro

This random late-night thought that hopefully someone can quickly point me to (my Google-fu is weak tonight). I'd like to see some pictures of space from the ISS that don't include Earth. I live in an area that is heavily light polluted so my nightsky view is terrible and I've seen amazing images from other places on Earth that look stunning - I figured a view from the ISS would be even more amazing.

Some of the ones I've quickly found on google appear to be photoshopped - as I'll find the same scene with only a few stars, another seemingly showing the entire Milky Way and then another plain black highlighting the earth.

Many Thanks!

9 comments

  1. [7]
    steve
    Link
    Very few pictures exist simply because ISS is not equipped to take pictures of outer space. Most of outer space would be empty blackness. You might have better luck finding pictures from Hubble...

    Very few pictures exist simply because ISS is not equipped to take pictures of outer space. Most of outer space would be empty blackness.

    You might have better luck finding pictures from Hubble telescope which is at similar attitude than ISS and it would have much better image quality.

    11 votes
    1. [2]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. steve
        Link Parent
        Yes definitely, it would be clearer on ISS

        Yes definitely, it would be clearer on ISS

        1 vote
    2. [5]
      f700gs
      Link Parent
      I get ISS not having official cameras for that - but wouldn't one of the many many people who have been there ever taken a picture with a traditional camera out a window (or all the windows...

      I get ISS not having official cameras for that - but wouldn't one of the many many people who have been there ever taken a picture with a traditional camera out a window (or all the windows pointed at Earth?) ?

      I'm sure there is a logical reason out there I was just assuming that if a person was sitting on the Earth and could with their smart phone do a 30-60 second exposure get amazing views of many million stars that someone would have done the same from up there.

      2 votes
      1. [4]
        casiomega
        Link Parent
        There was a particular astronaut known as the photographer in the ISS and he posted a bunch of photos on his personal accounts. The name Mark Kelly rings a bell, but I'm falling asleep and can't...

        There was a particular astronaut known as the photographer in the ISS and he posted a bunch of photos on his personal accounts. The name Mark Kelly rings a bell, but I'm falling asleep and can't corroborate. Good luck ✌️

        2 votes
        1. [3]
          f700gs
          Link Parent
          Mark Kelly likely sounds familiar due to his time in politics? After a quick search I think you are referring to Don Pettite and he DOES have some photos closer to what I'm looking for thank you:...

          Mark Kelly

          Mark Kelly likely sounds familiar due to his time in politics? After a quick search I think you are referring to Don Pettite and he DOES have some photos closer to what I'm looking for thank you:

          https://www.space.com/35047-spaceborne-don-pettit-space-book-photos.html

          1 vote
          1. [2]
            BashCrandiboot
            Link Parent
            Scott Kelly may be the astronaut they were thinking of. Chris Hadfield also took a shit ton of photos when he was up there, but I bet most of them were of Earth.

            Scott Kelly may be the astronaut they were thinking of.

            Chris Hadfield also took a shit ton of photos when he was up there, but I bet most of them were of Earth.

            4 votes
            1. f700gs
              Link Parent
              Side note that man is one of my heroes - if you haven't read his guide to life on earth it's a must-read.

              Chris Hadfield

              Side note that man is one of my heroes - if you haven't read his guide to life on earth it's a must-read.

              3 votes
  2. [2]
    cancycou
    Link
    https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/space-station-gallery/ Official flicker account: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/albums One photo I found:...

    https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/space-station-gallery/

    Official flicker account: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/albums

    One photo I found: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/51112715325/in/album-72157715449337458/

    appear to be photoshopped

    It may or may not be. It might be simply because in that particular frame, some objects are just simply so much brighter than the stars (the earth for example).

    3 votes
    1. Pavouk106
      Link Parent
      With the last picture I would consider that the Earth might be the dark/shadow side and given the apperture and/or exposure, it may have just becoma this bright even though there is no/minimal...

      With the last picture I would consider that the Earth might be the dark/shadow side and given the apperture and/or exposure, it may have just becoma this bright even though there is no/minimal light.

      Anoher thing may be that the telescope takes pictures in many spectra/wavelengths - this may be infrared(-ish) picture or some other.

      Just my thoughts...

      Thanks for the links!

      1 vote