The Best Pictures Ever Taken in Space

The amazing image above shows star trails in the emptiness of space, while cities and lightning storms create colorful patterns on the Earth below. This composite image was created by International Space Station Expedition 30 crew member Don Pettit on May 17, 2012.

He explained the photographic techniques he used: "My star trail images are made by taking a time exposure of about 10 to 15 minutes. However, with modern digital cameras, 30 seconds is about the longest exposure possible, due to electronic detector noise effectively snowing out the image. To achieve the longer exposures I do what many amateur astronomers do. I take multiple 30-second exposures, then 'stack' them using imaging software, thus producing the longer exposure."

This is just one of the many remarkable images captured by astronauts high above the Earth. In this Newsweek gallery, we look at some of the best images ever taken in space, from the first moon landings to vertigo-inducing space walks and high-resolution images of deserts, glaciers and cities on our planet.