The atmospheric glow blankets Earth beneath a sparkling field of stars

GMT281_18_43_Don Pettit_C2023-A3 50mm near sun

iss072e030147 (Oct. 7, 2024) --- The atmospheric glow, caused by atoms and moelcules excited by sunlight, blankets Earth's nighttime horizon with a sparkling field of stars above in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 270 miles above the Pacific Ocean north of Auckland, New Zealand.