A Northwestern North America Night Awash in Light | International Space Station

A Northwestern North America Night Awash in Light | International Space Station

The glow of city lights, the aurora, and a rising Moon illuminate the night along the northwest coast of North America.

The glow of city lights, the aurora, and a rising Moon illuminate the night along the northwest coast of North America (labeled version)

This image, taken by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, shows the brilliant glow of major cities in western North America at night. The larger areas of bright yellow are lights from the U.S. cities of Portland and Seattle and the Canadian cities of Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary.

The bright circular feature near the center of the image is the Moon just beginning to rise above Earth’s limb. The space station’s orbit around Earth affords astronauts this type of view multiple times a day. Cruising around the planet at about 28,000 kilometers per hour (17,500 miles per hour), the crew aboard the space station sees approximately 16 moonrises and moonsets within a 24-hour period.

Inclement weather in Seattle and Vancouver likely obscured the view of the Moon for observers on the ground. Cloud coverage and light pollution can also obstruct the nighttime view of stars, the aurora, and satellites. Viewed from above, the city lights under cloud cover appear blurred compared to the lights of Edmonton and Calgary. The darkness of the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Range contrasts with the busy illuminated landscape.

The bright green aurora is the result of charged particles from the Sun interacting with gas molecules in Earth’s upper atmosphere. This spectacular light show is often best seen near Earth’s north and south poles, where the planet’s magnetic field draws in solar particles. During strong solar storms, the aurora may be seen from lower latitudes on dark, clear nights depending on the Sun’s level of activity and phenomena like solar flares and coronal mass ejections. The Sun entered the maximum phase of its current cycle in mid-2024, when auroras were observed from central Mexico. This phase is expected to continue through 2025.

Astronaut photograph ISS072-E-806482 was acquired on March 19, 2025, with a Nikon Z9 digital camera using a focal length of 28 millimeters. 

Image Description: A photo taken from orbit shows Earth at night against the backdrop of space. Yellow city lights dot the northwestern coast of North America across the middle of the image. Green aurora is visible to the left, and white moonlight is visible just above Earth's horizon.

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Image Credit: ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center
Text Credit: Samantha Jacob
Image Date: March 19, 2025
Release Date: Sept. 7, 2025

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