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Over the United Kingdom to the Middle East

The series of shots for this time-lapse video were taken by the Expedition 61 crew on board the International Space Station on January 23, 2020 from 21:23:19 to 21:42:27 GMT. The video starts on a night pass over the United Kingdom area, then travels past the major cities of Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Katowice, Kyiv, and Tehran. Towards the end of the video, there is a cluster of blue lights just south of Kuwait City; these are most likely boats. Long periods of darkness is typically due to the ISS passing over a body of water. Cities will often line the coast of the water bodies; this video shows the North Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, and the Persian Gulf.

Date posted: 2020/02/10

Compiled from frames ISS061-E-139294 to ISS061-E-141590

Night Pass Over South Asia

This time-lapse video was taken by the Expedition 61 crew on board the International Space Station (ISS) on October 28, 2019 at 21:34:32 to 21:48:40 GMT. This nighttime sequence was taken looking southeast and spans from the southern half of India, across Bangladesh, up to the mountains of China in the east. Flashes of lightning in the beginning highlight the coastline of India and the major city of Bangalore in the center. As the shot sweeps toward the northeast, we see the bright lights of Kolkata and Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. Darkness is prevalent as the ISS flies over the southeast portion of the Tibetan Plateau. The last major city is Xi'an, at the edge of the Qinling Mountains, before light takes over the frame.

Date posted: 2019/11/11

Compiled from frames ISS061-E-22294 to ISS061-E-22718

Over Western Europe at Night

An eastbound International Space Station advances across the European nightscape in this time-lapse from September 24th, 2019 at 19:25:40 to 19:32:16 GMT. To the left of the solar panel is northern Italy (0:03), followed by a cloud-covered glimpse of Slovenia and Croatia. On the northern coast of the Black Sea, Odessa shines bright at 0:15. The outline of the Black Sea extends until the patchwork of cities in eastern Turkey come into view. In the waning moments of this video, the Expedition 60 crew was able to get imagery of Baku, the Azerbaijani capital located on a peninsula in the Caspian Sea.

Date posted: 2019/10/17

Compiled from frames ISS060-E-79517 to ISS060-E-80317

From England to India at Night

The Expedition 60 crew captured a stormy evening over Eurasia as the International Space Station traveled from England to India on September 22, 2019 from 20:59:07 to 21:21:18 GMT. The time-lapse begins over a storm-obscured London (0:03) before Copenhagen and the Baltic Sea come in to focus (0:10). On the upper right of the video, Moscow appears covered in a halo of its own artificial light (0:25). Peeking out from beneath the clouds at (1:03) are the massive cities in the Punjab region of India, Lahore and Delhi. The ISS passes over heart of the Indian subcontinent before the time-lapse ends on the coast of the Bay of Bengal (1:22).

Date posted: 2019/10/17

Compiled from frames ISS060-E-74530 to ISS060-E-77192

Thick Clouds, Bright City Lights, & Flashes of Lightning

This video was taken by the Expedition 60 crew on August 09, 2019 at 22:34:00 to 22:05:03 GMT while onboard the International Space Station. The sequence begins over the Southern Atlantic Ocean and moves northeast across Africa. Amidst flashes of lightning, the nighttime lights of Tripoli stand out along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Sicily and Southern Italy are then illuminated in the left of the frame, the shot continues northeast as major illuminated cities like, Athens, Istanbul, and Moscow come into view.

Date posted: 2019/10/03

Compiled from frames ISS060-E-56593 to ISS060-E-58456

North Atlantic Ocean to Middle East - Jun. 2018

This time-lapse video was taken by the Expedition 56 crew on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots were taken on June 27, 2018 from 10:32:29 to 10:45:10 GMT, on a day pass from the north Atlantic Ocean to the Middle East. The video begins with nearly clear skies over Ireland and the United Kingdom. The ISS continues over France and cloud-covered Europe. The Alps are difficult to distinguish with clouds covering much of Germany, Switzerland, and northern Italy. Traveling southeast, land is visible again over Turkey and around the Black Sea. The video ends while passing over the Middle East.


Date posted: 2018/08/16

Compiled from frames ISS056-E-42902 to ISS056-E-44424

Middle East to Australia - Jul. 2018

This time-lapse video was taken by the Expedition 56 crew on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots were taken using a 16mm fisheye camera lens on July 7, 2018 from 05:18:32 to 05:45:38 GMT, on a day pass from the Middle East to western Australia. The video quickly begins passing over the Caspian Sea and moves over Iran and Turkmenistan. The ISS continues over Afghanistan and the Himalayas begin to show on the horizon. Traveling southeast, much of India and the Indian Ocean are cloud covered. The videos ends along the red-colored, west coast of Australia.


Date posted: 2018/08/07

Compiled from frames ISS056-E-91001 to ISS056-E-94252

Atlantic Ocean to Russia

This video was taken by the Expedition 53 crew on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots were taken on November 5, 2017 from 00:52:46 to 01:26:13 GMT, on a pass from the South Atlantic Ocean to Southwest Russia. The time-lapse begins with heavy layers of clouds where the Atlantic Ocean is hardly visible. A lightning storm flashes left of track over western Africa when the ISS approaches Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana's coastline. The clouds disappear and the clear night sky gives an opportunity for a perfect view of the vast Sahara Desert from the cupola. When the ISS reaches the Mediterranean Sea, Europe is a lit up back drop with bright night lights glowing from Italy, Greece, and Turkey. The clouds become thicker as the ISS crosses Europe and the video ends over western Russia after crossing the Black Sea.


Date posted: 2017/12/14

Compiled from frames ISS053-E-149375 to ISS053-E-151229

Atlantic Ocean to Kazakhstan

This video was taken by the Expedition 53 crew on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots were taken on November 5, 2017 from 22:29:56 to 23:03:24 GMT, on a pass from the South Atlantic Ocean to Kazakhstan. The video begins with a calm, dark sky and the moon’s reflection lingering on the tops of clouds and the ocean surface. While travelling over Africa, the ISS passes several lightning storms that flash below like paparazzi. The lightning subsides when the ISS reaches the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, the Persian Gulf, and the Zagros Mountains that curve around off the coastline. The pass continues over Central Asia and Kazakhstan with heavy clouds, ending just before sunrise.


Date posted: 2017/12/14

Compiled from frames ISS053-E-145305 to ISS053-E-147302

South Africa to Russia

This video was taken by the Expedition 53 crew on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots were taken on November 5, 2017 from 21:00:44 to 21:31:50 GMT, on a pass from South Africa to the Mongolia-Russia border. Lightning is peppered throughout this pass as the ISS skirts East coast Africa from South Africa to Somalia with an exquisite view of the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Oman. The Zagros Mountains swoop along the coastline before the ISS reaches the Western Himalaya and a broad look at “The -Stans”. The clouds get heavier and the lightning subsides as the video comes to a close over the Mongolia-Russia border.


Date posted: 2017/12/14

Compiled from frames ISS053-E-149375 to ISS053-E-151229

Iran to India

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 42 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken on January 9, 2015 from 08:48:01 to 08:55:08 GMT, on a pass from the border between Iran and Turkmenistan to central India. This video begins by looking southeast toward Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Himalayas can be seen distantly off toward the left of track. The pass continues as the ISS travels southeast toward northern and central India and looks out onto the Indian Ocean before the end of the video.


Date posted: 2015/01/22

Compiled from frames ISS042-E-108051 to ISS042-E-108851

Bangkok to North Pacific

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 38 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken on January 30, 2014 from 13:07:04 to 13:31:39 GMT, on a pass from northeastern Malaysia to the North Pacific Ocean, just south of the Aleutian Islands. This video starts looking northeast toward Bangkok at night and continues to travel northeast toward Hong Kong, then continues toward the Korean Peninsula and Beijing area. Just before the video passes over the black of the Pacific Ocean, the Kamchatka Peninsula can be faintly seen, with few city lights and snow-covered. The video ends looking north/northeast toward the Aleutian Islands.


Date posted: 2014/02/10

NEW- Click here for an annotated version of this video, which explains the geography throughout the time-lapse video.

Compiled from frames ISS038-E-37941 to ISS038-E-38914

From Night to Day to Night Again

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 34 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken on January 3, 2013 from 11:43:46 to 15:49:31 GMT, on a pass from northwestern Australia, making two complete orbits to eastern Quebec, near the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This fast-paced video features the ISS completing two and a half orbits around the Earth, crossing the terminator line several times in the process. The video begins as the ISS is in darkness, and as the moon rises on the left side of the video, the ISS begins to pass over into daylight. Clouds mostly obscure the view during this first daylight pass with the exception of the Caucasus and Elburz Mountains just before the terminator. The ISS slips back into night as the moon again rises in the left side of the video. As the Station flies back into daylight, the ISS flies over Central America, the Caribbean Sea, and Cuba and Florida before flying over the northern Atlantic Ocean. Most of Western Europe is under cloud, and the first land that can be seen is the Alps Mountains and Croatia. The ISS then passes over the terminator line again into darkness as the moon rises in the left side of the video. As the ISS passes back over into daylight, clouds obscure most of the Earth until near the end of the video, when it passes over the Baja Peninsula and the southwestern United States.


Date posted: 2013/01/23

Compiled from frames ISS034-E-16709 to ISS034-E-18545

Western Africa to Japan

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 34 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken on January 4, 2013 from 05:23:00 to 05:56:16 GMT, on a pass from the border of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo to just east of Japan. This video begins as the ISS travels northeast over central Africa just after sunrise. As the ISS flies over northeastern Africa, the Nile River can be seen in a zigzag pattern across the rust-colored desert. The ISS then crosses over the Red Sea before flying over the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East region. The video ends as the ISS travels northeast over the snow-covered areas of western Russia and China.


Date posted: 2013/01/23

NEW- Click here for an annotated version of this video, which explains the geography throughout the time-lapse video.

Compiled from frames ISS034-E-15609 to ISS034-E-16607

Across the Middle East

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 34 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken on January 4, 2013 from 12:03:33 to 12:19:53 GMT, on a pass from southwestern Russia, near the Black Sea, to the southern end of the Bay of Bengal, between Malaysia and Sri Lanka. The Caspian Sea is one of the first things seen after the clouds break during this daytime pass over the Middle East. Soon after, the Elburz Mountains are seen with snow covering the tops of the mountain peaks, followed by the Paropamisus Mountains in northern Afghanistan. The strong V-shaped mountain range is that of Sulaiman Mountains, in Pakistan. The video ends as the ISS passes over the terminator line.


Date posted: 2013/01/23

Compiled from frames ISS034-E-18613 to ISS034-E-19103

From Turkey to Iran

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 31 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken from May 23, 2012 from 07:06:33 to 07:10:21 GMT, on a pass from northern Turkey, near the Black Sea, to southwestern Iran. This video begins looking southeast over southern Turkey as the ISS passes over the southern Black Sea and Lake Van. The pass continues over Lake Van, with the Caspian Sea covered by cloud on the right side of the video and heavy dust over the left side of the video. The video ends looking over the Persian Gulf and the Zagros Mountains.


Date posted: 2012/07/20

Compiled from frames ISS031-E-81074 to ISS031-E-81302

From Atlantic Ocean to Kazakhstan

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 31 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken May 14, 2012 from 21:12:29 to 21:21:35 GMT, on a pass from the South Atlantic Ocean, south of Liberia, to northern Kazakhstan. This video shows the view out of all the windows in the Cupola, and begins by looking over the Atlantic Ocean. The ISS travels east towards Africa, with the clay-colored sands of the Sahara Desert. As the ISS crosses over Africa and then over the Mediterranean Sea, the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula stands out before traveling over Eastern Europe.


Date posted: 2012/06/14

Compiled from frames ISS031-E-25235 to ISS031-E-26560

European City Lights

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 30 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken April 14, 2012 from 00:22:19 to 00:38:34 GMT, on a pass from the Celtic Sea, just south of Ireland, to eastern Ethiopia. This video begins looking ENE over Ireland and the United Kingdom, with the Aurora Borealis faintly shining to the north. Continuing southeast over the English Channel, the bright lights of Paris and other cities can be seen. The pass continues over the eastern half of the Italian Peninsula and overlooks the Balkan Peninsula under heavy cloud before traversing over the dark Mediterranean Sea. The pass ends as the ISS continues southeast over the Red Sea, where the bright lights of Jeddah stand out.


Date posted: 2012/05/30

Compiled from frames ISS030-E-255727 to ISS030-E-256712

Libya to Turkey at Night

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 30 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken March 27, 2012 from 22:47:49 to 22:52:31 GMT, on a pass from southeastern Libya to southern Turkey. This video begins looking northeast at the Nile River Delta in northeast Africa. As the pass continues northeast, the island of Cyprus and the cities hugging the eastern Mediterranean coast are seen. The southern end of the Black Sea, along with Turkey and Georgia, can be seen as the video ends.


Date posted: 2012/05/16

Compiled from frames ISS030-E-194364 to ISS030-E-194646

City Lights over Middle East

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 30 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken March 23, 2012 from 00:21:00 to 00:29:28 GMT, on a pass from northwest Sudan to the Caspian Sea. This video begins as the ISS is traveling northeast over northern Africa at night, approaching the Nile River Delta region, which is brightly lit, and Cairo at the far north end of the delta as a brighter light. As the ISS passes the Nile River, the video shows the area at the northwestern end of the Arabian Peninsula, where the bright cities of Beirut and Tel Aviv stand out along the darker water of the Mediterranean Sea. Continuing passed these cities, we can see Baghdad on the far right side of the video.


Date posted: 2012/04/23

Compiled from frames ISS030-E-171587 to ISS030-E-171841

ISS over the Atlantic Ocean towards Russia

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 30 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken March 17, 2012 from 07:35:45 to 07:52:36 GMT, on a pass from the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the Iberian Peninsula, to northern Kazakhstan. This video begins over the Atlantic Ocean, as the camera faces the Cupola and Earth. The Cupola can be seen with the top hatch open near the bottom of the video. Most of the view of Earth is obscured by clouds or snow, but some land is able to be distinguished through these obstructions.


Date posted: 2012/04/23

Compiled from frames ISS030-E-160120 to ISS030-E-161119

Mediterranean Sea to Kazakhstan

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 30 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken January 02, 2012 from 10:35:30 to 10:46:38 GMT, on a pass from the south Mediterranean Sea, just east of Tunisia, to northern Kazakhstan. This pass begins looking back from the ISS toward Algeria and Tunisia. As the ISS travels northeast toward the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Tunis and the Gulf of Hammamet are seen, as well as an oblique view of Tunisia's capital city, Tunis. The pass continues over Sicily and the southern half of Italy, before continuing to the Balkan Peninsula. The pass ends over the snow-covered country of Kazakhstan.


Date posted: 2012/01/17

Compiled from frames ISS030-E-28525 to ISS030-E-28692

Looking Behind the ISS at North Africa, Western Europe, and Across the Terminator

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 30 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken December 28, 2011 from 13:32:55 to 13:54:42 GMT, on a pass beginning just west of Africa, over Cape Verde, to eastern Kazakhstan. The video begins looking backtrack from the ISS toward the Atlantic Ocean, where the Cape Verde islands can be seen. As the ISS travels northeast, the western coast of Africa can be seen before traveling over the Strait of Gibraltar and toward Spain and Portugal. The snow-covered Alps Mountains can be seen as the ISS continues northeast toward Kazakhstan. The video ends with a great shot of the Terminator line, which is where the ISS passes into the Earth's nighttime hours.


Date posted: 2012/01/05

Compiled from frames ISS030-E-17452 to ISS030-E-17708

Day Pass over the Dunes in Africa to Snow-Covered Kazakhstan

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 30 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken December 29, 2011 from 10:59:09 to 11:21:09 GMT, on a pass from the Gulf of Guinea, just south of Cote d'Ivoire, to northern Kazakhstan. The pass begins looking behind the International Space Station toward the Atlantic Ocean before continuing northeast over northern Africa. The dunes in the deserts of northern Africa can be carefully seen. The pass continues over the Gulf of Sidra and the Mediterranean Sea to Greece, and on toward the Black Sea and the snow-covered Pontic Mountains. The pass ends over the snow-covered Kazakhstan before the ISS crosses over the Terminator.


Date posted: 2012/01/05

Compiled from frames ISS030-E-18382 to ISS030-E-18644

Day Pass Across Himalayas to Eastern Russia

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 30 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken December 29, 2011 from 08:04:48 to 08:20:03 GMT, on a pass from western Pakistan to far southeastern Russia, near the Sea of Okhotsk. This video begins over Pakistan and India, heading northeast over the snow-covered Himalayan Mountains. From this point, snow and cloud covers most of the land until the ISS crosses over the Terminator line.


Date posted: 2012/01/05

Compiled from frames ISS030-E-18051 to ISS030-E-18234

Western to Eastern Europe

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 30 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken December 4, 2011 from 00:12:00 to 00:30:27 GMT, on a pass from just northwest of Morocco to central Kazakhstan. These are played side-by-side to show a wider perspective to the covered regions. The first thing that can be seen is Spain and Portugal, with Lisbon lit up brightly in the foreground near the Atlantic Ocean and Madrid in the middle of Spain. The pass continues into France, with the English Channel in the far left and the Italian Peninsula in the far right. Further down the pass and on the left video, the Baltic Sea appears as a dark patch surrounded by light as the ISS continues to the east-northeast towards Moscow, Russia. The pass continues toward central Russia before the sunrise in the east comes up.


Date posted: 2011/12/12

The two videos were shot simultaneously using different cameras: one pointing toward the northeast: high resolution or low resolution, and one pointing toward the east: high resolution or low resolution).

Compiled from frames ISS030-E-9593 to ISS030-E-10332

Middle East to the South Pacific Ocean

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken October 29, 2011 from 15:24:54 to 15:52:55 GMT, on a pass from western Kazakhstan near the Caspian Sea southeast to South Australia, just north of the Great Australian Bight. The video begins just northwest of the Tibetan Plateau, where the greenish glow is from airglow. The line separating the plateau and the city lights to the right of track are the Himalaya Mountains, with cities like New Delhi, Lahore, and Islamabad standing out. Continuing down track, one can spot the brightly-lit city of Calcutta just right of track before flying over Burma and Thailand. Thailand's capital city, Bangkok, is the brightest-lit city in the video. The white lights of the city can be seen nearby the green and purple lights on the Gulf of Thailand, which are fishing boats and oil rigs. Once across the Gulf of Thailand, cities like Kuala Lumpur and Singapore stand out right of track before flying over the island of Java (long, thin island downtrack from Singapore). Near the end of the video the ISS flies southeast over Australia and lightning storms, and the Milky Way can be seen rising in the sky.


Date posted: 2011/11/07

Compiled from frames ISS029-E-36830 to ISS029-E-37387

Western Europe to Central India

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken October 19, 2011 from 19:59:21 to 20:18:56 GMT, on a pass from the North Atlantic Ocean, just west of France and the United Kingdom, to central India. The pass begins coming up on the lights of the United Kingdom and northwestern Europe. Larger cities like London, Paris, and Brussels stand out as very bright clusters of lights split by the English Channel. As the ISS continues southeast towards the Baltic Sea and Poland, the lights become more scarce, but cities like Warsaw still stand out. Just downtrack of this are more clouded regions in Ukraine and Russia, with Kyiv and Moscow lit under the clouds. The pass continues into the Middle East, where the India-Pakistan border shows with cities like Lahore, Islamabad, and New Delhi brightly-lit. The pass ends over central India looking southeast.


Date posted: 2011/11/07

Compiled from frames ISS029-E-38092 to ISS029-E-38475

Eastern Europe to Southeastern Asia at Night

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken October 29, 2011 from 16:56:46 to 17:28:21 GMT, on a pass beginning over central Ukraine to just south of Australia, over the Great Australian Bight. This video immediately starts by looking southeast toward the Black Sea, then continues over the Caspian Sea and to the Mideast. The India-Pakistan border stands out as the snaking orange line left of track. The bright lights nearby the borderline are those of Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and main seaport. The pass continues down the western half of India, with lightning storms shooting off in the southwestern half of the peninsula. The lights of Sri Lanka can be seen through the clouds directly downtrack of India before passing into the Indian Ocean. Finally, the pass ends just west of Australia, with the lights of Perth seen on the coastline. The Aurora Australis can be seen in the distance as the video ends.


Date posted: 2011/11/01

Compiled from frames ISS029-E-34145 to ISS029-E-34717

Halfway around the World

This video was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the International Space Station. The sequence of shots was taken October 8, 2011 from 20:53:10 to 21:24:58 GMT, on a long pass from the mid-Atlantic between South America and Africa ascending to the Balkan Peninsula, and rounding out on a descending pass southwest towards the Solomon Islands. The camera is west-looking, therefore the setting sun in the west is the first image seen throughout this sequence. The pass continues over the Sahara Desert in northern Africa, before hitting the Mediterranean Sea and the Balkan Peninsula. Finally, the ISS flies over Russia and Kazakhstan and begins the descending pass towards the southern Pacific Ocean. The faint lights from the Aurora Borealis can be seen near the end of the video.


Date posted: 2011/10/14

Compiled from frames ISS029-E-22493 to ISS029-E-23129

Night views over the Mediterranean Sea

This video over the Mediterranean Sea was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the International Space Station. This sequence of shots was taken October 6, 2011 from 22:58:09 to 23:13:15 GMT, on an ascending pass from just west of the Strait of Gilbaltar over the Atlantic Ocean to northern Kazakhstan. The first significant landmark is the Strait of Gibraltar, separating Spain and Morocco. As the pass continues down the Mediterranean Sea, the Balearic Islands stand out nicely contrasted with the water. Next, Corsica and Sardinia stand out before the Italian Peninsula. The pass continues over the northern Balkan Peninsula, with the Black Sea standing out as a dark patch among city lights.


Date posted: 2011/10/14

Compiled from frames ISS029-E-24213 to ISS029-E-24417

Night Pass over Central Africa and the Middle East

This video over Central Africa and the Middle East was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the International Space Station. This sequence of shots was taken October 1, 2011 from 21:20:24 to 21:41:24 GMT, on an ascending pass from just southwest of Cote d'Ivoire in Africa to southern Russia. At the beginning of the video, thunderstorms can be seen in western Africa. The first lights that are visible is along the Nile River in Egypt near the Mediterranean Sea and through Israel and Lebanon along the coast. Further down the pass and into the Middle East, the Baku Peninsula brightly sticks out into the Caspian Sea. The pass ends over southern Russia, looking northeastward toward the Aurora Borealis.


Date posted: 2011/10/11

Click here to read our article on the Nile River Delta.

Compiled from frames ISS029-E-18677 to ISS029-E-19097

Evening Pass over the Sahara Desert and the Middle East

This video over the Sahara Desert and the Middle East was taken by the crew of Expedition 29 on board the International Space Station. This sequence of shots was taken October 6, 2011 from 19:46:23 to 19:58:41 GMT, on an ascending pass from the Sahara Desert to western Kazakhstan. The rust color of the Sahara Desert is the first view in this video. Because this is an evening pass, the surface colors can be seen still, along with the bright lights of populated areas. The first view of these bright lights is along the Nile River, which can be seen just before the Red Sea. Just down track is the historic city of Jerusalem, and Lebanon's capital city, Beirut. As the ISS approaches the Caspian Sea, the Baku peninsula can be seen as a bright peninsula in the sea. The pass ends looking over Kazakhstan.


Date posted: 2011/10/11

Compiled from frames ISS029-E-19693 to ISS029-E-19914

ISS flies over Africa, the Mideast, and the Terminator line

This video sequence was created using a series of still images taken onboard the International Space Station on August 21, 2011, from 14:12:10 to 14:43:48 GMT. In this video, you can clearly see as the ISS passes over central Africa through the desert and northeastward to Egypt and the Nile River Delta. The Baku peninsula in the Caspian Sea stands out under slight cloud cover, and one of the final landmarks you can see is the Aral Sea. Finally, the ISS approaches the terminator line, which is the line separating day and night on the surface of Earth.


Date posted: 2011/09/22

Compiled from frames ISS028-E-31151 to ISS028-E-31315