NASA Astronauts Share Spectacular Images Of Lightning Over The US

NASA describes the result as a "nebula-like formation".

Satellite view of lightning off the coast of North Carolina, captured May 15, 2025. — Lightning off the coast of North Carolina, captured May 15, 2025.

NASA astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS) have shared spectacular images they took of lightning below them on Earth.

Orbiting the Earth on the ISS, astronauts get an unusual view of just about any large-scale phenomenon occurring below, from red sprites to "space angels" and the aurora borealis. In the latest slew of photos produced by astronauts on the orbiting laboratory, astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain captured lightning as it raged through a thunderstorm in Earth's atmosphere.

McClain, posting the results at the end of May, took her photos while passing over a storm over Alabama and Georgia. NASA describes the images as looking like a "nebula-like formation", as the clouds are illuminated by the storm.

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Ayers explains that she saw lightning while performing her first space walk, which she conducted with McClain, the third walk for her.

"McClain and Ayers completed their primary objectives, including relocating a space station communications antenna and the initial mounting bracket installation steps for an IROSA that will arrive on a future SpaceX commercial resupply services mission," NASA writes of the spacewalk.

"Additionally, the astronaut pair completed a pair of get ahead tasks, including installing a jumper cable to provide power from the P6 truss to the International Space Station’s Russian segment and another to remove bolts from a micrometeoroid cover."

After the walk, where she was impressed with the scale of the lightning storm below, Ayers attempted to capture lightning from inside the ISS.

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The two credit fellow astronaut Don Pettit for his techniques in capturing such events from above. Pettit is renowned for his spectacular shots of Earth from the ISS, including this view which "cannot be taken anymore". According to Ayers, "it’s all about planning and timing to get good photos".