Astronaut Shares Rare Milky Way View From Space With Red Atmospheric Band

Astronaut Don Pettit has shared a photograph of the Milky Way taken from the International Space Station (ISS), showing distant stars against a sky filled with a thick red band and colourful streaks of light from Southeast Asia. 

The image captures the difference between the seemingly fixed stars and the lights on Earth that appear stretched across the photograph.

In a post on X, Pettit described the image as one of his favourite Milky Way photographs taken from the ISS. He explained how the station's orbital movement and the camera's star tracker helped create the view.

Check Out The Post Here:

One of my favorite Milky Way photos from ISS, with the multicolored lights of Southeast Asia streaking across the exposure from orbital velocity, while distant stars remain fixed by my star tracker. The long exposure intensifies the atmospheric airglow into a thick red band! https://t.co/dhAmRTIdwV

— Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) October 27, 2026

The photograph shows multicoloured lights from Southeast Asia stretching across the exposure. Pettit explained that these streaks appeared because of the ISS's orbital velocity, or its movement as it travels around Earth.

He wrote, "The long exposure intensifies the atmospheric airglow into a thick red band!"

Airglow is the faint light produced in Earth's atmosphere. In the photograph, it forms a prominent red band beneath the star-filled sky.

Social Media Reaction

Social media users were amazed to see the view shared by astronaut Don Pettit. 

One user commented, "I'd love to know the source of the massive amount of green."

Another user noted, "Incredible image."

"Wow! It really hits hard when you zoom in to the Milky Way," added a third user.