Four hundred kilometers above the Earth’s surface, the International Space Station (ISS) travels at an average speed of 27,750 km/h, making 15.7 orbits per day, giving astronauts the opportunity to photograph the planet from a unique angle.

However, the high speed of the ISS means that cities and the Earth’s terrain “run” at breakneck speed, so any photograph of surface detail requires special settings. But the same move allows for photos like the one above, which NASA posted on its official Instagram account. The image consists of several photographs taken by NASA astronaut Don Pettit in 2012 over a 25-minute period, with successive shots every thirty seconds.

Long-exposure shots show chain lightning, which is depicted as discrete flashes. “Here you can see the history of the electrical storm, the lights of cities passing by the Earth, and the trails of the stars,” explains NASA.

The star “tracks” form straight lines in the direction of the station’s orbit, but circular arcs to the left and right of the ISS orbit. The edge of the atmosphere appears yellowish due to the imminent sunrise. Above this zone, reddish light is visible from the interaction of solar radiation with oxygen atoms in the atmosphere.

During his time on the ISS, Don Pettit took countless photos, posting them on his personal Instagram account.

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A post shared by Don Pettit (@astro_pettit)

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