Spectacular Images Of Cities At Night From Space

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are treated to a spectacular view of cities on Earth lit up at night. But the relative speed of the space station meant any photos taken at night were blurred.

In early 2003 astronaut Don Pettit constructed a device called a barn-door tracker using spare parts from around the space station. This moves the camera to compensate for the movement of the Space Station relative to the Earth below, resulting in clearer images.

Here are 20 amazing images of major cities across the world as seen by the crew of the International Space Station. I’ve also included a thumbnail gallery of all the images lower down the page allowing you to view the pictures at a higher resolution.

London, England

London, England at night from space

Antwerp, Belgium

Antwerp Belgium at night from space

Madrid, Spain

Madrid Spain at night from space

Athens, Greece

Athens Greece at night from space

Cairo, Egypt

Cairo Egypt at night from space

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Riyadh Saudi Arabia at night from space

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi at night from space

Tel Aviv (left) and Jerusalem

Tel Aviv (left) and Jerusalem at night from space

Seoul, South Korea

Seoul South Korea at night from space

Hong Kong

Hong Kong at night from space

Tokyo Bay, Japan

Tokyo Bay at night from space

Most Japanese cities glow blue-green, rather than the orange seen elsewhere. Newer developments along the shore of Tokyo Bay use orange sodium vapour lamps, while the majority of the urban area has light green mercury vapour lamps.

Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles California at night from space