Departing ISS astronaut still finds time for stunning night shot

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick is preparing to fly home aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule at the end of the seven-month Crew-8 mission, but he recently found time to snap an incredible night shot featuring the Nile River, the Nile Delta, Cairo, and beyond.

“Moonlight illuminates Cairo and the Mediterranean on a mostly clear night,” Dominick wrote in a message accompanying the photo that was shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.

“We were up late last night sleep shifting in preparation for undocking and return to Earth in the next few days,” Dominick continued. “Cairo at night is one of my favorite views. I am happy the timing worked out to see it one more time before we depart.”

Moonlight illuminates Cairo and the Mediterranean on a mostly clear night.

We were up late last night sleep shifting in preparation for undocking and return to Earth in the next few days. Cairo at night is one of my favorite views. I am happy the timing worked out to see it one… pic.twitter.com/zLmVozPvfL

— Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) October 20, 2024

Captured from 250 miles above Earth, Dominick used a 50mm lens set at f1.2, 1/10 second, and ISO 3200. He doesn’t specify the camera body but going by his earlier work, it’s likely to have been a Nikon Z9.

Dominick, on his first missions to space, has been wowing fans with some incredible imagery taken during his seven months aboard the orbital outpost. But this latest shot must be one of his finest night images yet.

The American astronaut is making final preparations with three other astronauts for the return journey to Earth. The voyage has already been delayed due to poor weather conditions in the splashdown zone off the coast of Florida.

NASA said on Sunday that there had been “a marginal improvement in forecast weather conditions in potential splashdown sites off the coast of Florida for the return of the Crew-8 mission,” adding that Crew-8 is currently targeting undocking from the ISS no earlier than 9:05 p.m. ET on Monday, October 21. It added that the earliest splashdown opportunity for the Crew Dragon spacecraft is about 12:55 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 22.