NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick captured a stunning photograph of the Milky Way while orbiting Earth on a recent mission. The image, taken just before sunrise, showcases the central belt of the Milky Way glowing brightly against the dark backdrop of space. During the crew’s night-time orbit, the absence of the moon allowed for an unobstructed view of the celestial phenomenon.
Dominick took advantage of this unique opportunity to photograph the galaxy from an unparalleled vantage point. The image highlights the beauty and vastness of our galaxy, offering a rare glimpse that only a few can witness firsthand from space. Dominick also posted a time-lapse video on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Sunday, showcasing an astonishing wave of aligned reflections ahead of sunrise.
The footage captured the mesmerizing reflections of solar arrays, auroras, and city lights from space. The solar array light reflections were so mind-blowing that I stayed until 1 AM to shoot a few more sunrises. Luckily, we get sunrises every 90 minutes,” Dominick wrote.
Astronaut captures Milky Way’s brilliance
Dominick detailed the meticulous procedures involved in capturing the “dance” of the array of reflections. This included setting up multiple time-lapse videos to find the perfect lighting.
He and his team scanned thousands of still images every 0.5 seconds to select the most compelling ones to piece together into the final video. He noted that a “still image does not fully capture it.”
In a separate time-lapse video posted on X on Tuesday, Dominick showed what appears to be a meteor explosion, also known as a bolide. Slowed down to one frame per second, the clip depicts a bright object streaking and then exploding until it disappears.
Dominick explained that he had set up the time-lapse over northern Africa amid dark conditions with lightning to capture the Milky Way Core. “I was greedy because I wanted the Milky Way Core. When I reviewed the shots afterward, I found the bolide,” he wrote.
“If you know about these types of meteors, please chime in. I am curious to know more.”
Rashan is a seasoned technology journalist and visionary leader serving as the Editor-in-Chief of DevX.com, a leading online publication focused on software development, programming languages, and emerging technologies. With his deep expertise in the tech industry and her passion for empowering developers, Rashan has transformed DevX.com into a vibrant hub of knowledge and innovation. Reach out to Rashan at [email protected]
