NASA Astronauts Get Creative With ‘Light Painting’ To Make Up For No Fireworks
Photo 58208840 © Andreyi Armiagov | Dreamstime.com
NASA astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) found a stellar way to celebrate Independence Day, swapping traditional fireworks for a cosmic twist on the festivities. With pyrotechnics off the table in the space environment, they turned to “light painting”—a technique involving long camera exposures and light sources to create illuminating effects.
Among the results was a spectacular image of astronaut Matthew Dominick zipping across the ISS like a superhero, all captured during a bit of downtime on Expedition.
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Dominick, a dab hand with a camera in microgravity, displayed the American flag on the back of the Kibo module, a Japanese-built research facility. He then began experimenting with interior exposures, manually triggering camera flashes to produce ethereal images of himself and his crewmates.
For those interested in replicating this light painting technique, Dominick shared some technical specifics: 15-second exposures, an f/22 aperture, a 24mm focal length, and an ISO of 500. The astronauts each wielded their own light sources, firing their flashes spontaneously during the 15-second exposure period.
3/ Group shot. Everyone gets their own flash. pic.twitter.com/8q3pkktD6t
— Matthew Dominick (@dominickmatthew) July 4, 2024
All crew members are well-versed in orbital photography. Their skills go beyond playful photos; they play a crucial role in Earth observation, capturing images of auroras, city lights, and natural disasters from their vantage point in space.
In the vastness of the otherworldly unknown, creativity knows no bounds—even when fireworks are off-limits.
[via Space.com and Matthew Dominick, images via various sources]
