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Bruce Murray Space Image Library

Long exposure lights from the ISS

Long exposure lights from the ISS
Long exposure lights from the ISS NASA astronaut Don Pettit was a fan of long exposures when taking pictures from the International Space Station. This one, captured in May 2012, shows streaks of light from below and above as the station passed over Earth beneath the stars. NASA/Don Pettit

“My star trail images are made by taking a time exposure of about 10 to 15 minutes,” said Pettit. “However, with modern digital cameras, 30 seconds is about the longest exposure possible, due to electronic detector noise effectively snowing out the image. To achieve the longer exposures I do what many amateur astronomers do. I take multiple 30-second exposures, then ‘stack’ them using imaging software, thus producing the longer exposure.” See more of Pettit’s long-exposure ISS photography here.