10 incredible space photos from astronaut Don Pettit’s new book

Spaceborne just landed in book stores
A time lapse photograph of stars and the lights of earth below.
spaceborne cover
Spaceborne is on sale now. PSG

“To travel in space is to be awestruck, over and over and over.”–Don Pettit, Spaceborne.

Don Pettit and his crewmates flew into space three times, capturing about 600,000 photos from their shuttle missions and long-term stays on the International Space Station. In his new book, Spaceborne, the astronaut/photographer highlights some of the best of the collection, leading to page after page of mind-blowingly beautiful space imagery. This is a good one for the coffee table.

Popular Science‘s photo director, Thom Payne, chose 10 of his favorite Spaceborne images. Here are his picks, with captions excerpted from the book.

plant life under infrared light
Don Pettit/NASA
night view of the Bosphorus city lights
Don Pettit/NASA
Earth as seen from a spaceship
Don Pettit/NASA
Sunshine on the International Space Station
Don Pettit/NASA
Betisboka River delta in Madagascar in black and white
Don Pettit/NASA
Auroras on the surface of the Earth
Don Pettit/NASA
space stations over aurorae
Don Pettit/NASA
Two solar panels in front of the terminator
Don Pettit/NASA
Self-portrait of Don Pettit in the space station cupola
Self-portrait of Don Pettit in the space station cupola Don Pettit/NASA

Adapted from Spaceborne, by Don Pettit. Published by PSG.

 
Outdoor gift guide content widget

2025 PopSci Outdoor Gift Guide