![In August 2011, the powerful and huge hurricane Irene achieved landfall over the east coast of the US. It had been a category 3 storm but had subsided somewhat before reaching land, but it still did damage over a vast area. Images from NASA satellites like this one can help us better understand hurricanes. While we can't manipulate or stop them, the more we know about them, the more we can predict where they will hit and where to concentrate evacuation efforts if necessary. Space-based observations of our planet are absolutely critical for our own well-being... and they can also be beautiful.<br /><br />[Note: You should also check out <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/08/30/hurricane-irene-from-start-to-finish/" target="_blank">this video of Irene</a> showing its progress from start to finish as seeen from space.]<br /><br /><em>Image credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team</em>
<div><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/6083518236/sizes/l/in/photostream/" target="_blank">Original image</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/08/26/irene-sidles-up-to-the-east-coast/" target="_blank">Original blog post</a></div>](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gallery/albums/top-space-pix-2011/6083518236_328fd6e6fd_z.jpg "Hurricane Irene makes landfall")
![<div>I always get a thrill when a shot of Earth from space shows something recognizable, and there's hardly a more obvious landform on the planet than the boot of Italy. Lit up at night, as seen in this picture taken on June 15, 2011, the boot's outline is drawn in for you by such cities as Bari, Brindisi, and Naples. Sicily is lit up as well. The ISS was almost a thousands kilometers east of Italy when it took this shot looking west, which is why it looks a bit squashed, foreshortened by the curve of the Earth.<br /><br /><em>[Update: Some folks are wondering about the orientation of this picture. The ISS was northeast of Italy, <a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=51274" target="_blank">over Romania</a>, when this shot was taken, and the photographer was looking west. The limb of the Earth can be seen to the lower left. If you imagine yourself looking <strong>up</strong> at the Earth in this picture, not <strong>down</strong>, you can flip the orientation in your head like an optical illusion. Try it!]</em></div>
<br /><em>Image credit: NASA</em><br /><br /><a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=51274" target="_blank">Original image</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/07/07/buonanotte-italia/" target="_blank">Original blog post</a>](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gallery/albums/top-space-pix-2011/iss_italy.jpg "Buonanotte, Italia")
![A lot of people aren't aware that the International Space Station is easily visible to the naked eye when it passes overhead; it's actually the fourth brightest object in the sky (after the Sun, Moon, and Venus). But you can go further than that; with a good telescope and some preparation you can see structure on it, since it's about 100 meters across, the size of a football field. But astrophotographers Thierry Legault and Emmanueal Rietsch went further still, capturing these amazing images of the ISS with<em> Endeavour</em> docked to it! The detail is astonishing; <em>Endeavour</em> is clearly visible along with the station's solar panels and various accouterments. It's hard to believe these were taken from the ground with a relatively small telescope, but they were. Thierry has a gift for timing and prep work... check out the next picture in the series to see what I mean.<br /><br /><em>[Note: Thierry and Emmanuel <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/03/09/discovery-spacewalk-seen-from-the-ground/" target="_blank">also got shots of Discovery mission spacewalk</a>, showing the astronaut on the ISS!]</em><br /><br /><em>Image credit: <a href="http://legault.perso.sfr.fr/STS-134.html" target="_blank">Thierry Legault and Emmanuel Rietsch</a></em>
<div><br /><a href="http://legault.perso.sfr.fr/STS-134_110529.jpg" target="_blank">Original image</a><br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/06/06/seriously-jaw-dropping-pictures-of-endeavour-and-the-iss/" target="_blank">Original blog post</a></div>](http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gallery/albums/top-space-pix-2011/legault_iss_endeavour_3shot.jpg "Endeavour docked to the ISS... seen from the ground!")
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About Bad Astronomy
Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He's written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic and fights the abuse of science, but his true love is praising the wonders of real science.
The original BA site (with the Moon Hoax debunking, movie reviews, and all that) can be found here.
Contact me: The Bad Astronomer "at" gmail "dot" com
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December 6th, 2011 at 6:37 am
Surely we are looking _east_ in the picture of the Italian Boot, since Sicily is nearer to us?
December 6th, 2011 at 6:46 am
Thank you, Phil. I needed a moment of beauty this morning, and you gave me sixteen of them.
Just wonderful.
December 6th, 2011 at 7:07 am
I am an astronomer and look at great such images often – but this was still a major treat! Thanks Phil!
- Carsten
December 6th, 2011 at 7:54 am
Eithelader (1): Actually, that’s an illusion. When looking at this picture, imagine you are looking up at the Earth and not down, and you’ll see that the bottom left part of the picture is actually toward the limb of the Earth, farther away from you. It’s a weird illusion, due to this now being a wide field shot. It would be more obvious if you could see more of the Earth.
December 6th, 2011 at 8:04 am
Very nice picture looks like a still from the ISS timelapse video
BTW you missed a 0 in the mph 17,000 not 17,00
December 6th, 2011 at 8:47 am
The “Two eclipses for the price of one” picture almost certainly shows the Death Star coming into position to destroy the Earth. There is even a Tie Fighter’s shadow on the sun.
December 6th, 2011 at 9:03 am
The funny thing about Iceland is that it is called “Island” in Swedish (Is = ice, land = country). So, for me, Iceland is both an island in English, but also Island in Swedish! Luckilly, the pronunciation is different, the country is pronounced (roughly) “iis-laand”
(Just wanted to contribute with some nerdy, unnecessary trivia to use next time someone mentions Iceland by the dinner table).
Really cool pictures!
December 6th, 2011 at 9:05 am
Both the moon and ISS crossing the sun! Amazing. What a shot!
December 6th, 2011 at 9:16 am
Great choices. I couldn’t have put together a more appropriate group! Thanks.
December 6th, 2011 at 9:42 am
Phil, these pictures are great. Do you know what kind of cameras the astronauts use when they take pictures? (I am talking about those pictures you specifically mention have been taken by astronauts themselves and not by satellites). Thanks
December 6th, 2011 at 9:48 am
Ok I see it now, the top portion of the image is closer to the camera than the bottom portion. It’s like looking up and backward while hanging upside down from the back of the ISS.
December 6th, 2011 at 10:41 am
I find this year’s top space pictures too earth-bound.
December 6th, 2011 at 11:05 am
[...] one small patch of the sky for several months and recording every tiny photon of light they …Top 16 Pictures from Space 2011Discover Magazine (blog)Hubble Racks Up 10000 Science PapersSpace Ref (press release)What's [...]
December 6th, 2011 at 11:23 am
Re: the Italy/Sicily pic:
I’ve always enjoyed pics of Earth from space (or other planets & natural satellites, for that matter) where the pic is oriented like the viewer is swooping around or under the planet, rather than over. It’s just more dramatic that way, since we humans are always so used to seeing the ground beneath our feet, and photo editors have a bias toward orienting space photos with the planet ‘down’ at the bottom of the frame. (The famous “Earthrise” Apollo sequence of the Earth rising above the limb of the moon was actually seen by the astronauts aboard with the moon to the side of the photo frames… nearly every book & magazine I’ve seen always has the moon at the bottom, but if you look closely, Earth’s continents show that such an orientation has Earth lying on its side.)
By the way, is anyone else wondering if there will be another photo or two released yet before year’s end that’ll have Phil posting a supplemental entry? (I’m hoping he’ll post a ‘runners up’ list, too!)
December 6th, 2011 at 1:27 pm
You really should separate it into three categories. Top photos of space from earth, space from space and earth from space.
December 6th, 2011 at 3:32 pm
Breathtaking! I haven’t seen most of these before, which is an extra bonus. And here’s hoping for many more “endeavors” going into space!
December 6th, 2011 at 5:15 pm
Even after Phil’s explanation I was having a hard time imagining how the picture for Italy could have been taken from a point north-east of Italy (over Romania). I set the image to full-screen and sort of tilted my head leftwards and now I can see how this could be. The fainter lights on the bottom left corner of the picture is the coast of Tunisia I suppose?
December 7th, 2011 at 1:56 am
Humorously, the name for the island Iceland in Icelandic, is Ísland.
December 7th, 2011 at 6:00 am
They are all remarkable really, but only #’sto 1,2,6,10,11,12,and 16 are worthy of this list.
December 7th, 2011 at 7:08 am
Great photos but how about some pictures of space?
December 7th, 2011 at 7:45 am
18 Moon rises per day is a bit too many. That would be a period of 80 minutes! Actually the ISS orbits 15.59 times per day, and subtracting the Moon’s 0.03 orbits/day gives 15.56 Moon rises and and Moon sets per day.
December 7th, 2011 at 9:01 am
[...] hay imágenes del transbordador Endeavour, la Estación Espacial y fenómenos atmosféricos. Sigue este enlace para que las veas todas. Observa también estas fotos del espacio con una cámara de $30, sigue [...]
December 7th, 2011 at 9:59 am
That’s some gallery Phil! Can’t wait for the next edition.
December 7th, 2011 at 4:19 pm
Is that a Tie fighter in the two eclipses image?
December 7th, 2011 at 5:39 pm
Thanks BA – always love these top 10 (or more) photo posts. Great selection.
December 7th, 2011 at 5:53 pm
Hey Phil,
Can’t imagine what you went through Phil to get the huge list of potential “Top 16 Pictures” candidates down to only 16! Guess you gave up on getting it down to 10, like in past years (lol). That must have been one long and tedious (hard to decide) process.
I was particularly stunned to see the angle of re-entry for Atlantis, as I don’t recall ever seeing a graphic image for the re-entry of orbiting objects. WOW, that is one steep drop! I would pick this picture as #1 in the gallery, even though all the others are also awesome.
This picture made me wonder if anyone on the ISS had ever captured a picture of a meteor entering Earth’s atmosphere — only to see that not only is the answer “yes”, but that you included one of them in your Top 16 gallery (smile). Thank you Phil! We live in a rural dark-sky area in Colorado and in years past my wife and I would spend time outside during each of the major meteor shower events, shivering in the cold but watching them in complete awe.
Thank you for taking the time to compile, write captions and share these pictures with all of us, Phil. Really enjoy your Bad Astronomy blog. Keep up the good work!
-Don G.
December 7th, 2011 at 7:57 pm
[...] Big Dose of Awesome From Discover’s Bad Astronomy blog, the top space photos from 2011. Serious coolness awaits you at the link, but here’s a [...]
December 8th, 2011 at 9:23 am
Although that is not “one of the best shuttle launch photos ever taken” it was also manipulated in Photoshop.
December 8th, 2011 at 3:10 pm
That space station shot in front of the solar eclipse looks like Darth Vader’s fighter.
December 8th, 2011 at 7:56 pm
Failblog stole your photo gallery. (click on my name to see it….)
December 11th, 2011 at 10:06 am
Viewing this page on my iPhone results in an infinite redirect loop between mblogs.discovermagazine.com and blogs.discovermagazine.com.
December 12th, 2011 at 9:24 am
[...] story means until you know how the story ends. And vice versa.Amazing photos via Phil Plait: “Top 16 Pictures from Space 2011”Amazing photos via Phil Plait: “Top 14 Solar System Pictures of 2011”Amazing [...]
December 18th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
[...] hosted by the Discovery Channel. But this year he had so many he had to have three categories: Space Pictures (in or from near-Earth orbit), Solar System Pictures and Deep Space Pictures. The most mind blowing [...]
December 19th, 2011 at 12:11 am
[...] galería completa en Bad Astronomy Categories: General Tags: Comentarios (0) Referencias (0) Dejar un comentario [...]
December 19th, 2011 at 4:39 am
[...] Top 16 Pictures from Space 2011 di Bad Astronomy [...]
February 22nd, 2012 at 1:02 pm
I thought the term “near-earth orbit” applied to asteroids, such as Cruithne. Isn’t the ISS in “low earth orbit”?