Don Pettit shared the photo on X-Post, writing, “3 galaxies at once! I photographed the Milky Way and two other galaxies.”
“3 galaxies at once! I photographed the Milky Way and both Magellanic Clouds in this star field…”

This photo was taken from the port window of the SpaceX Crew Dragon installed on the ISS, when Pettit was on Expedition 72

This moment would have been an unimaginable experience for the human eye, where the Earth and three galaxies can be captured in one frame.

Pettit, who is NASA’s oldest astronaut, specializes in space photography. He has captured amazing scenes on camera during several expeditions.

Pettit himself once said, “There is a pleasure in watching clouds, stars and galaxies from space, and he built a homemade tracking device for it that supports long exposure images despite the movements of the ISS.”

In a stunning moment, NASA astronaut Don Pettit shared a long-exposure image of Earth, its light, and three galaxies all at once.

The image includes Earth, the Milky Way galaxy, and two neighboring galaxies. The central galaxy, the Milky Way, is clearly visible in the distance.

Two distant galaxies are visible above the Milky Way, visible from Earth’s southern hemisphere but not to the naked eye. The image was taken from the International Space Station.

The lower part of the Earth shows the glow of cities and electric lights on Earth. The view also includes the exterior of the SpaceX Crew 9 Dragon capsule.