Gallery | Top Space Pix 2011 | The fiery last descent of Atlantis

On July 21, 2011, the Orbiter Atlantis re-entered Earth's atmosphere for the very last time. Due to the vagaries of orbital mechanics, the ISS happened to be near the spot where Atlantis came back in, and an astronaut on-board captured this amazing picture of its fiery return. As the orbiter rams through our atmosphere at two dozen times the speed of sound, it violently compresses the air, heating it to incandescent temperatures. In other words, it glows, and the heated air takes a few minutes to dim. The result is a long, brilliant trail marking the final passage of Atlantis back to the ground, and one of the most spectacular pictures ever taken from orbit.

Image credit: NASA

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