This striking image of the Amazon River was captured from the International Space Station during either sunrise or sunset. With the sun sitting low on the horizon, the river reflects the light like a strip of molten gold cutting through the vast, dark green rainforest below. Clouds hover above the landscape, their long shadows stretching across the scene and adding depth to the glowing view.
From space, the Amazon appears almost delicate, a thin golden line winding through parts of Peru, Colombia, and Brazil. Astronauts often capture these rare lighting moments, but this one stands out for how it turns the world’s largest river into what looks like a luminous thread stitched across the Earth. Scientists back on the ground use images like this to study weather patterns and atmospheric particles, taking advantage of the ISS’s unique vantage point.
It’s a moment where science meets pure visual beauty, reminding us how extraordinary Earth can look from above.
