Mesmerizing ISS time-lapse shows aurora, satellites, stars, and a meteor

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick has shared an amazing time-lapse (below) that he captured from the International Space Station (ISS) showing an aurora, satellites, stars, and a meteor.

“Night time-lapse just prior to sunrise,” Dominick wrote in a social media post that included the time-lapse. “If you watch carefully, part way through you can see a meteor streak towards Earth.”

Satellites, stars, and, a meteor . . . Night timelapse just prior to sunrise. If you watch carefully, part way through you can see a meteor streak towards earth.

I do not have the settings readily available, but they are likely: 50mm, f1.2, ISO 6400, 1/4s, with a 1/2s interval. pic.twitter.com/bAsFsu2Q4m

— Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) July 21, 2024

If you missed the meteor, check the video at the 32-second mark and you’ll see a rapid streak of light heading toward Earth.

Responding to the footage, one commenter wrote, “How do you get anything done up there!? I would be in the Cupola the entire time just staring in awe!” referring to the seven-window module that affords the best exterior views from the space station.

Another wrote, “So frail and so majestic, brought a tear to my eye,” while another said simply, “Incredible! I want your job.”

Dominick arrived at the ISS in March as part of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission. Since his arrival at the orbital outpost, he’s been impressing his followers on X (formerly Twitter) with some wonderfully creative images and videos of both inside and outside the station.

Most of the time he also shares the camera settings that he used to get the shots, giving budding photographers an insight into how to take certain types of images.

Different astronauts have different interests, but those with a passion for photography will be in their element as they peer out over Earth from 250 miles up, camera in hand. Another accomplished photographer who visited the ISS in recent years was Frenchman Thomas Pesquet. The astronaut had a knack for taking breathtaking images, though he admitted that it involved a great deal of planning.