Earth observation taken by the Expedition 11 crew

ISS011-E-12401 (10 July 2005) --- Gulf of Finland is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 11 crew member on the international space station. This strongly oblique view shows the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in the sunglint of late afternoon. The image was taken from the station when the position of the craft lay north of the Caspian Sea, approximately 2,500 kilometers to the southeast on the Russia–Kazakhstan border. The Neva River appears in sunglint, connecting Lake Ladoga to the gulf. Although not visible, St. Petersburg—the home town of Sergei Krikalev, space station commander when this picture was taken—lies on the Neva River delta. In this view taken with a powerful 400 millimeter lens, sunglint even reveals the causeways to Kotlin Island in the gulf—including some of the details of their construction. Oblique views reveal marked layers of gray haze generated by air pollution, a common sight over Western Europe. Pollution also renders the bright glint areas a copper color.