Warsaw at night

Warsaw, capital of Poland, at night, as seen by ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti aboard the International Space Station for her Minerva Mission. She took the image in September 2022 and commented on her social media accounts: "Standing on the River Vistula, this Polish metropolis is easy to spot from space. #MissionMinerva

Samantha used a digital camera with 180 mm-lenses to take this picture from the International Space Station.

Colour pictures taken from the International Space Station are the best source for scientists to map artificial light at night.

Images have been colour-calibrated connecting measurements of light pollution and sky brightness from space and on the ground in order to give an accurate representation.

Over the last two decades astronauts are witnessing from space how cities shine whiter at night as new street lighting technologies were introduced.