My god, it's full of stars. Astronaut and astrophotographer Don Pettit captured this deeply trippy image from the International Space Station. The scene has the same cosmic psychedelia as the Star Gate sequence at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey (video below). But, y'know, this is real.
To create the final time-lapse image, Pettit collaborated with astrophotographer Babak Tafreshi who, back on Earth, assisted in processing the long exposure multiple photos.
"The star trails above at the streaks on Earth occur in long exposure photos as the ISS flies over the Earth at 14,500 mph," explains Space.com. "On the planet below, the white blobs are lightning, with city lights creating the different colored streaks. The linear streaks above are stars."
Far out.
Previously:
• Breathtaking video of Aurora Borealis from the International Space Station
• Astronaut Don Pettit, just floatin' around in the ISS with his camera collection, like you do (photo)
• Interviewing astronaut Don Pettit on the pioneering science being conducted on the ISS
