Photographer extraordinaire Don Pettit is about to return to Earth following a seven-month stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
During his time in orbit some 250 miles above Earth, Pettit has been sharing breathtaking photos and videos of Earth and beyond, featuring everything from star trails and aurora to rocket launches and cityscapes.
To mark Pettit’s successful mission, we’ve pulled together some of his best social media posts from the last seven months. Enjoy!
Pettit is the master of star trail exposures. Here’s one of his best:
Next up, a striking shot of the Betsiboka River in Madagascar, which Pettit said reminded him of “the arteries in your retina.” The bright red color is due to the high concentration of iron-rich sediments carried by the waterway.
Another remarkable shot captured from the space station, this infrared image (converted to black and white) shows sunlight glinting off the Mediterranean Sea.
Astronauts on the space station are often treated spectacular aurora displays, caused by solar particles hitting Earth’s atmosphere. Here’s a video of one that Pettit shared earlier this month.
Pettit’s photo of Earth and the Milky Way features “cosmic colors at sunrise.”
“Star trail from ISS,” Pettit says of this image showing star trails, city lights, and parts of the ISS. “I think these are a blend of both science and art. There is so much techno-geek stuff to see, or you can simply sit back and think, ‘How cool.’”
An incredible view of boats anchored off the coast of Van Hung, Vietnam.
A stunning image of the Grand Canyon.
An “earthly eyeball,” as seen through the station’s seven-window Cupola module.
Here we can see Pettit setting up some of his cameras inside the Cupola module.
Watch the star trails stretch out.
The U.K.’s capital city “sparkling at night.”
Pettit even managed to photograph the second stage of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket heading to space on its inaugural flight in January 2025.
He also got to see a test launch of SpaceX’s Starship, the most powerful rocket ever to fly.
A view of a large Magellanic Cloud.
Another amazing ride over an aurora.
Las Vegas at night.
A view of Mongolia, here looking more like a work of art.
More “art,” including rivers that resemble “flowing silver snakes.”
Pettit also caught an image of a passing comet.
Beautiful colors at the start of the year.
Can you spot Everest?
Star trails, city lights … and Starlink satellites!
Pettit using microgravity for an easy lens swap.
A time-lapse showing a Crew Dragon spacecraft approaching the station.
The Milky Way seen through the window of a docked Crew Dragon capsule.
The so-called “Thai aurora” is the result of green lights on fishing boats.
A Dragon cargo spacecraft heading back to Earth.
A finally, a bit of fun in microgravity conditions.