Astronaut shares dazzling star-filled video from the space station

By Trevor Mogg Published August 5, 2024

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick has shared another amazing time-lapse video from the International Space Station (ISS), where he’s been living and working since March.

Dominick has fast earned himself a reputation for having great creative ability when it comes to photographing both the inside and outside of the orbital laboratory. The American astronaut also likes to share the technical aspects of his work, and welcomes feedback on how he might tackle his photographic projects differently for better results.

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His latest effort, shared on social media on Sunday and embedded below, features a frame filled with numerous stars along, with sections of the ISS silhouetted against the light.

“Experimenting with time-lapses out of different windows around the ISS,” Dominick wrote in his post. “This is one of a few windows that face away from Earth in a compartment in the service module called the ПхО. ISO is cranked high and the exposure is a possibly too long (1.6 seconds) as you can see the stars starting to streak. Considering cranking ISO higher and dropping exposure for crisper stars, but I don’t want to lose nebulosity. Thoughts?”

Experimenting with time lapses out of different windows around the ISS. This is one of a few windows that face away from earth in a compartment in the service module called the ПхО. ISO is cranked high and the exposure is a possibly too long (1.6s) as you can see the stars… pic.twitter.com/MJB3hDdIH8

— Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) August 4, 2024

Last month, Dominick shared a time-lapse that included an aurora, satellites, stars, and a meteor zipping across the frame. He’s also been posting some highly creative images from inside the ISS involving techniques like long exposures and multiple flashes.

A couple of weeks ago, Dominick had an online discussion with space photographer extraordinaire Don Pettit. During the chat, a recording of which is available online, the pair talked about their experiences with astrophotography in low-Earth orbit.

At 69, Pettit is currently NASA’s oldest active astronaut and is set to make his fourth trip to orbit in September. Over the course of his career, Pettit has earned a reputation for producing incredible images from space. The accomplished astronaut is set to make his fourth trip to orbit in September and we can’t wait to see the kind of images he shares once he’s settled in.

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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