The Moon+Reflection+Zodiacal Light at Orbital Sunrise | International Space Station

The Moon+Reflection+Zodiacal Light at Orbital Sunrise | International Space Station

What a beautiful Christmas from Earth orbit!

It is rare to capture four such visual elements all at once!

Expedition 74 Flight Engineer and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui: "It's a view full of beautiful collaborations and performances . . . the Moon and its reflection & zodiacal light."

What's that strangely diffused white light? 

Dust orbiting the Sun. At certain times of the year, a band of sun-reflecting dust from the inner Solar System appears prominently just after sunset—or just before sunrise—and is called zodiacal light. Although the origin of this dust is still being researched, a leading hypothesis holds that zodiacal dust originates mostly from faint Jupiter-family comets and that it slowly spirals into the Sun.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) experience 15 to 16 sunrises and sunsets each day due to its rapid orbit around the Earth. This occurs approximately every 45 minutes, allowing them to witness this phenomenon multiple times throughout the day.

Follow Expedition 74:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew

Station Commander: Mike Fincke (NASA)

JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui

Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Oleg Platonov, Sergey-Kud Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev

NASA Flight Engineers: Zena Cardman, Chris Williams

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: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)/K. Yui
Release Date: Dec. 25, 2025

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