From mesmerising views of the Northern Lights to Earth's glowing cities at night: Astronaut Don Pettit reveals the very best of his stunning space snaps

  • Dr Don Pettit is one of a select few humans to have ever lived, worked, and walked, in space 
  • He has created a stunning portfolio of some of his best snaps in a new photography book 
  • The Nasa astronaut has spent 370 days aboard the International Space Station
  • He took hundreds of thousands of photos during three separate stays on the orbiting spacecraft 

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Dr Don Pettit has lived, worked, and even walked, in space

Dr Don Pettit has lived, worked, and even walked, in space

Dr Don Pettit is one of a select few humans to have ever lived, worked, and even walked, in space.

The chemical engineer and Nasa astronaut has spent 370 days aboard the International Space Station, taking hundreds of thousands of photos during three separate stays on the orbiting spacecraft between 2000 and 2012.

Now, Dr Pettit has put together a stunning collection of some of his best snaps of the Earth, stars, and everything in between.

The pictures are in a book, 'Spaceborne', which vividly captures fascinating images of all that astronauts can see from space, from clouds casting lengthy shadows across the surface of the globe, to mesmerising 'star trails' as they streak across Earth's night sky. 

American chemical engineer and Nasa astronaut Dr Don Pettit has spent 370 days aboard the International Space Station. This image shows 'star trails' as seen from the ISS. A star trail is a type of photograph that utilises long-exposure times to capture the apparent motion of stars in the night sky due to the rotation of the Earth

American chemical engineer and Nasa astronaut Dr Don Pettit has spent 370 days aboard the International Space Station. This image shows 'star trails' as seen from the ISS. A star trail is a type of photograph that utilises long-exposure times to capture the apparent motion of stars in the night sky due to the rotation of the Earth

LIFE ON THE ISS

According to Dr Pettit, life on the ISS comes with both its ups and its downs.

'Knowing that you're exploring and expanding the base of human knowledge is a great feeling,' he told MailOnline.

'But on the other hand you spend a while away from your family, so you do get homesick.

'As an astronaut you suffer from the classic explorer's dilemma: When you're with your family, you yearn to go off exploring, but when you're out there in space, you yearn to be home.'

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 'I got into photography around the sixth or seventh grade,' Dr Pettit told MailOnline.

'Growing up I took every penny I made and put it into new cameras and equipment.

'I've tried to incorporate the hobby into my work wherever possible.'

Dr Pettit humbly suggests that photos from aboard the ISS aren't any more beautiful than from Earth, just 'different'.

The photographs he takes focus less on the technical details of space travel, and more on the artistic beauty of the scenery.

'I didn't want to have a photobook that shows a day in the life of an astronaut,' Dr Pettit told MailOnline.

'I just wanted it to be an artistic thing that people could appreciate. 

'I of course want people to appreciate the natural beauty of our Earth.' 

Dr Pettit, pictured here working in the cupola aboard the ISS, took hundreds of thousands of photos during three separate stays on the orbiting spacecraft between 2000 and 2012

Dr Pettit, pictured here working in the cupola aboard the ISS, took hundreds of thousands of photos during three separate stays on the orbiting spacecraft between 2000 and 2012

Dr Pettit has created a stunning collection of some of his best photographs of the Earth, stars, and everything in between. This infrared photo that he snapped reveals the twists and turns of Bangladesh's Ganges River delta

Dr Pettit has created a stunning collection of some of his best photographs of the Earth, stars, and everything in between. This infrared photo that he snapped reveals the twists and turns of Bangladesh's Ganges River delta

'I got into photography around the sixth or seventh grade,' Dr Pettit told MailOnline. 'Growing up I took every penny I made and put it into new cameras or new equipment, and I've tried to incorporate the hobby into my work wherever possible.' The Earth is pictured here as viewed through the cupola windows aboard ISS

'I got into photography around the sixth or seventh grade,' Dr Pettit told MailOnline. 'Growing up I took every penny I made and put it into new cameras or new equipment, and I've tried to incorporate the hobby into my work wherever possible.' The Earth is pictured here as viewed through the cupola windows aboard ISS

Many of Dr Pettit's mesmerising photographs contain ghostly, semi-blurry outlines of the machinery where he lived and worked. 

'Humans can only survive in space for around 15 seconds,' says Dr Pettit. 

'Out there, you're one third machine, one third human, and one third nature.

'I wanted to capture the natural beauty, but with an overprint of the machines that we cannot divorce ourselves from.'

Florida as viewed at night from the Keys in the south to Atlanta, with Georgia in the north. 'I put together the handbook for taking photos of cities from space,' Dr Pettit told MailOnline. 'So cities at night are a particular favourite'

Florida as viewed at night from the Keys in the south to Atlanta, with Georgia in the north. 'I put together the handbook for taking photos of cities from space,' Dr Pettit told MailOnline. 'So cities at night are a particular favourite'

Dr Pettit humbly suggests that photos from aboard the ISS aren't any more beautiful than from Earth, just 'different'. The photographs he takes are focussed less on the technical details of space travel, and more on the artistic beauty of the scenery, such as these star trails

Dr Pettit humbly suggests that photos from aboard the ISS aren't any more beautiful than from Earth, just 'different'. The photographs he takes are focussed less on the technical details of space travel, and more on the artistic beauty of the scenery, such as these star trails

The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) seen from the International Space Station. The famous natural phenomenon is triggered when charged particles from the sun strike Earth's atmosphere

The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) seen from the International Space Station. The famous natural phenomenon is triggered when charged particles from the sun strike Earth's atmosphere

But even with 370 days spent away from Earth, including 13 hours spent walking in the cold, dark of open space, it's the views of Earth itself that impressed Dr Pettit the most.

'I pretty much put together the handbook for taking photos of cities from space,' he says.

'So cities at night are a particular favourite of mine.

'Cities give a fascinating view of what humanity can do to the surface of a planet.

'Something about them just radiates humanity.'

Many of Dr Pettit's mesmerising photographs contain ghostly, semi-blurry outlines of the machinery where he lived and worked. 'I wanted to capture the natural beauty, but with an overprint of the machines that we cannot divorce ourselves from.' This infrared image shows the waving sandy beaches of the Bahamas

Many of Dr Pettit's mesmerising photographs contain ghostly, semi-blurry outlines of the machinery where he lived and worked. 'I wanted to capture the natural beauty, but with an overprint of the machines that we cannot divorce ourselves from.' This infrared image shows the waving sandy beaches of the Bahamas

Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston are all pictured. 'Cities give a fascinating view of what humanity can do to the surface of a planet,' says Dr Pettit. 'Something about them just radiates humanity'

Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston are all pictured. 'Cities give a fascinating view of what humanity can do to the surface of a planet,' says Dr Pettit. 'Something about them just radiates humanity'

Infrared photo of an active volcano in Patagonia, Argentina. 'Knowing that you're exploring and expanding the human knowledge base is a great feeling,' says Dr Pettit. 'But on the other hand, you spend a while away from your family, so you do get homesick

Infrared photo of an active volcano in Patagonia, Argentina. 'Knowing that you're exploring and expanding the human knowledge base is a great feeling,' says Dr Pettit. 'But on the other hand, you spend a while away from your family, so you do get homesick

But according to Dr Pettit, life on the ISS comes with its downs as well as its ups.

'Knowing that you're exploring and expanding the human knowledge base is a great feeling,' he told MailOnline.

'But on the other hand you spend a while away from your family, so you do get homesick.

'As an astronaut you suffer from classic explorer's dilemma: When you're with your family, you yearn to go off exploring, but when you're out there in space, you yearn to be back.'

According to Dr Pettit, life on the ISS comes with its downs as well as its ups. 'Knowing that you're exploring and expanding the human knowledge base is a great feeling,' he told MailOnline. 'But on the other hand you spend a while away from your family, so you do get homesick. This infrared photo shows the Bahamas with clouds overhead

This stunning infrared photo shows the famous beaches of the Bahamas with lines of clouds overhead

'As an astronaut you suffer from classic explorer's dilemma: When you're with your family, you yearn to go off exploring, but when you’re out there in space, you yearn to be back,' reveals Dr Pettit. This image shows star trails with two of ISS's large solar panel units looming in the foreground

'As an astronaut you suffer from classic explorer's dilemma: When you're with your family, you yearn to go off exploring, but when you're out there in space, you yearn to be back,' reveals Dr Pettit. This image shows star trails with two of ISS's large solar panel units looming in the foreground

Spain and the Straight of Gibraltar illuminated at night. On his last trip on the ISS in 2011, Dr Pettit and his five fellow crew members took a staggering half a million photographs in 192 days

Spain and the Straight of Gibraltar illuminated at night. On his last trip on the ISS in 2011, Dr Pettit and his five fellow crew members took a staggering half a million photographs in 192 days

Dr Pettit reveals that he and his colleagues' photography habit almost jeopardised their most recent mission.

On their last stay on the ISS in 2011, Dr Pettit and his five fellow crew members took a staggering half a million photographs in 192 days.

To put this number into perspective, during the previous 12 years of space travel, around half a million photographs of space and Earth had been taken in total.

'We managed to double the total number of photos taken in space on that trip,' Dr Pettit told MailOnline.

'We actually took the one millionth picture from space.

The team took so many photos that they managed to fill up most of the ISS's vital hard drive space.

During the previous 12 years of space travel, around half a million photographs of space and Earth had been taken in total. In this image, low angle sunlight casts long shadows from the clouds over Earth

During the previous 12 years of space travel, around half a million photographs of space and Earth had been taken in total. In this image, low angle sunlight casts long shadows from the clouds over Earth

The many solar panels of the ISS space station that power it through day and night. The space station's 'solar arrays' contain a total of 262,400 solar cells and cover an area of about 2,500 square meters (27,000 square feet) - more than half the area of an American football field. A solar array's wingspan of 73 meters (240 feet) is longer than a Boeing 777's wingspan

The many solar panels of the ISS space station that power it through day and night. The space station's 'solar arrays' contain a total of 262,400 solar cells and cover an area of about 2,500 square meters (27,000 square feet) - more than half the area of an American football field. A solar array's wingspan of 73 meters (240 feet) is longer than a Boeing 777's wingspan

'There was a period where I was instructed by mission control to delete half of the photos we had taken,' says Dr Pettit.

'I felt like someone who had been told to drown half of his puppies to save the rest of the litter.'

Working with colleagues at mission control, Dr Pettit scrambled to find a way to quickly download the glut of photographs back down to Earth.

'I had to clean them out at a really slow rate to show that I was freeing up space, but I was just trying to buy my colleagues some time to save as many as possible!'

'I deleted around 300-400GB of images but was able to save most of them.'

Dr Pettit's book Spaceborne, published by PSG Wire, is available online now.

'There was a period where I was instructed by mission control to delete half of the photos we had taken,' says Dr Pettit. 'I felt like someone who had been told to drown half of his puppies to save the rest of the litter.' This image shows star trails gliding across the Earth, taken from the ISS

'There was a period where I was instructed by mission control to delete half of the photos we had taken,' says Dr Pettit. 'I felt like someone who had been told to drown half of his puppies to save the rest of the litter.' This image shows star trails gliding across the Earth, taken from the ISS

'I had to clean them out at a really slow rate to show that I was freeing up space, but I was just trying to buy my colleagues some time to save as many as possible! I deleted around 300-400GB of images but was able to save most of them,' Dr Pettit says. This image shows a detailed shot of the Betsiboka River in north-central Madagascar

'I had to clean them out at a really slow rate to show that I was freeing up space, but I was just trying to buy my colleagues some time to save as many as possible! I deleted around 300-400GB of images but was able to save most of them,' Dr Pettit says. This image shows a detailed shot of the Betsiboka River in north-central Madagascar

The ISS is 'reboosted' periodically to maintain its orbit, and to prepare for visiting spacecraft, such as the space shuttle and Progress vehicles. This image shows the space station during a reboost, with the earth's horizon looming above

The ISS is 'reboosted' periodically to maintain its orbit, and to prepare for visiting spacecraft, such as the space shuttle and Progress vehicles. This image shows the space station during a reboost, with the earth's horizon looming above

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