Earth Observations taken by Expedition 30 crewmember

ISS030-E-260480 (22 April 2012) --- One of the Expedition 30 crew members aboard the International Space Station photographed this nighttime image featuring a Lyrid meteor, just to the left of center. The space station was over the Gulf of Mexico, and many coastal cities in several states can be seen. Florida is above the center of the image with Cuba to the right. Atlanta is on the left side. A line of thunderstorms had just passed Cuba when the photo was taken. The bright bluish blobs are clouds illuminated by lightning. The reddish streaks are city lights blurred by the motion of the station during the five-second exposure.