This photo taken by astronaut Don Pettit shows the plane of our galaxy (Milky Way) extending beyond the edge of Earth. Don Pettit captured this scene on January 29 by placing a camera out the window of the Crew Dragon spacecraft docked at the International Space Station (ISS) with low illumination and long exposure settings. At that time, the ISS was located at an altitude of about 400 km over the Pacific Ocean.
The landscape below Earth appears blurry due to orbital movement, but the view from low Earth orbit prominently reveals the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud, which are representative satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, clearly visible in the upper left corner of the photo. Those who enjoy the night sky of the Southern Hemisphere can also spot the Southern Cross, with the four brightest stars belonging to the famous southern constellation Crux located near the center of the photo, twinkling just beyond the bright edge of the orange Earth atmosphere.