NASA image captures star trails above Earth from the space station
A long-exposure photograph from the International Space Station shows star trails over the Banda Sea, lit by fishing boats and Indonesian city lights below.
Written by EGazette’s AI. The facts are drawn from cited sources; the analysis is the AI’s own.
NASA has released a striking long-duration image showing star trails arcing above Earth, captured from the International Space Station as it orbited roughly 258 miles above the Banda Sea.
The photograph, taken on September 20, 2026 and credited to NASA astronaut Anil Menon, combines the sweeping trails of stars overhead with scattered points of light on the ocean and coastline below: the blue glow of fishing boats dotting the sea and the yellow lights of Indonesian cities along the shore.
Long-duration, or long-exposure, photography from the space station is a technique astronauts use to capture the apparent motion of stars across the night sky, a result of the station's own orbital movement relative to the fixed positions of distant stars.
Images like this one are part of a broader collection NASA regularly publishes from the International Space Station, offering views of Earth's geography, weather and city lights not visible from the ground.
NASA did not release additional details beyond the image's caption and photo credit.
Sources
- Star Trails — NASA Breaking News
EGazette summarizes reporting from multiple sources; follow the links for the originals.
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