New ISS Timelapse: Night to Day to Night Again

By Nancy Atkinson - January 28, 2013 at 2:46 PM UTC | Space Exploration

Here's the latest video shot from the International Space Station, courtesy of the crew of Expedition 34. You'll see the view from above as the ISS crosses the terminator from night into day, and then slips back into night again. This day/night cycle happens 16 times in orbit during a 24 period. This sped-up view shows two complete orbits on January 3, 2013 from 11:43:46 to 15:49:31 GMT, and includes a couple of cameo appearances from a rising Moon.

While the beauty of Earth is indisputable, the magnificence of the space station is readily apparent here, as the solar arrays glow with the setting sunlight, even as Earth below is plunged into darkness.

Let's hope we can one day all experience this view first-hand!

See more info about the video -- and others -- at the

NASA Crew Earth Observations website.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com