This year's best snapshots reveal both Earth and space in glorious detail.
Check out astronauts' views of eclipses, northern lights, storms, and Earth's grandest landscapes.
Every year, the International Space Station produces some of the world's best photography.
Astronauts tend to be technically skilled with a camera, yes. Many of them are engineers, after all.
Their real photography advantage, though, is the glorious view from space as they circle our planet every 90 minutes.
From blue comets and pink northern lights to snowy volcanos and winding rivers, the view 250 miles above Earth does not disappoint.
Here are the best photos of 2024 from the space station.
You simply can't beat the views from the International Space Station.An icy lake in southwestern China's high plateau region north of the Himalayas.
NASA
So astronauts take hundreds of photos each year.The snow-covered Onekotan Island, part of Russia's Kuril Islands, is home to the Tao-Rusyr Caldera stratovolcano in this photograph.
NASA
"How would you not want to take pictures and try and share that with the rest of humanity?" NASA astronaut Matt Dominick told ABC News Radio in August.The São Francisco River in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.
NASA
This year brought a special treat: the bold, bright Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, or Comet A3.Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), roughly 44 million miles away from Earth at the time of this photo.
NASA
Of course, astronauts also get front-row seats to the northern lights, aka the aurora borealis.An aurora radiates brightly above the Indian Ocean around the Soyuz MS-25 crew ship docked to the ISS.
NASA
In April, they watched the shadow of the moon creep across the US during the total solar eclipse.The moon's shadow covers portions of Quebec, New Brunswick, and Maine during the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.
NASA
Earth's atmosphere offers other unique spectacles, such as colorful sunsets and sunrises.NASA astronaut Jeanette Epps used long-exposure camera settings to capture an array of colors across Earth's horizon.
NASA
This eerie sheen is noctilucent clouds — extremely rare ice-crystal formations much higher in the atmosphere than any other cloud.Wispy noctilucent clouds in Earth's upper atmosphere are illuminated by the sunlight just after sunset above the South Pacific Ocean.
NASA
Even these gorgeous photos don't do the real views justice, according to Dominick.Lake Rakshastal (left) and Lake Manasarovar (right) in Tibet.
NASA
"I've spent a fair amount of time trying to capture what I can see with my eye. I've not been able to achieve it yet," he said.Lake Manicouagan, carved out by the impact of an ancient meteorite, in Quebec.
NASA
Not all the views are fun or comforting. Astronauts can see wildfires clearly.Wildfires in South Africa's Great Escarpment, near the coast of the Indian Ocean.
NASA
Every year they get a bird's-eye view of hurricanes, too.Hurricane Helene above the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Mississippi on September 25, 2024.
NASA
Stretching hundreds of miles wide, major storms like Hurricanes Helene and Milton seem to swallow the world below.Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 storm at the time of this photograph, churns in the Gulf of Mexico on October 8, 2024.
NASA
Astronauts can even see lightning blaring through the clouds.Lightning (at right) illuminates the clouds above the South China Sea with the city lights of Southeast Asia shining through.
NASA
One thing they can't often see is borders — like in this spot where Libya, Sudan, and Egypt meet in the Sahara desert.The borders between Libya, Sudan, and Egypt meet in the Sahara desert.
NASA
Astronauts have long described a profound shift in perspective when they first see Earth from above. It's called the "Overview Effect."The southern coast of Africa shines through the International Space Station's cupola, aka the "window to the world."
NASA
They talk about overwhelming feelings of awe, unity, and a sense of Earth's fragility.A snow-covered South Georgia Island in the southern Atlantic Ocean.
NASA
The actor William Shatner described it after his 2021 spaceflight with Jeff Bezos: "There's the blue down there and the black up there. There is Mother Earth and comfort, and there is — is there death? I don't know."The Himalayas stretch across Earth's curvature.
NASA
"It really is difficult for me to imagine people on Earth not getting along together," NASA astronaut Suni Williams told reporters in September. "It just changes your perspective."The night lights of civilization highlight the Nile River and dimly outline the shores of the Red Sea, the Gulf of Suez, and the Gulf of Aqaba around midnight.
NASA
Williams and her crewmate, Butch Wilmore, have been stuck on the space station for months.Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore (at center) pose with their fellow astronauts Mike Barratt (far left) and Tracy C. Dyson (far right).
NASA
They were the first people to fly on Boeing's Starliner spaceship for a roughly week-long flight in July.The Starliner spacecraft approaches the International Space Station carrying astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams.
NASA
Starliner returned to Earth without them after engine issues made NASA officials concerned about its safety.Boeing's uncrewed Starliner spacecraft backs away from the International Space Station on September 6, 2024.
NASA
Now, Williams and Wilmore are scheduled to return to Earth aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spaceship in March.The SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft docked to the ISS, with astronaut Matt Dominick peering out of the left window and the Milky Way appearing in the background.
NASA
They've taken the setback in stride. "This is my happy place. I love being up here in space," Williams said.Salt evaporation ponds south of the Dead Sea in between Israel and Jordan.
NASA
The space station's days are numbered, though. It will reach the end of its operational life in 2030.The Paraguay River separates the nations of Argentina and Paraguay.
NASA
NASA has asked SpaceX to design a vehicle to push the ISS out of orbit, to a fiery plunge into the Pacific Ocean.The Mexican states of Baja California and Baja California Sur stretch between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California.
NASA
The ISS will have a "big legacy," Dominick said: "Look what humanity can do when they come together and work together."NASA astronaut Mike Barratt captured this image of sea ice off the coast of Newfoundland.
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