International Space Station (ISS) astronauts have a habit of throwing up some truly out-of-the-world pictures that leave enthusiasts spellbound. And they were at it again recently with the ISS sharing a rare sight — the Earth’s horizon at night — leaving everyone mesmerised.

The view of urban landscapes and twinkling lights from outer space may no longer come as a surprise, the recent pictures showed the horizon in full bloom at night. The posts were shared on the ISS’s official Twitter handle.

“The Earth’s horizon at night is ringed by an air glow surrounded by stars in these pics from the station,” the agency captioned.

Alongside the artificial lights on the Earth’s surface, the pictures also capture the beauty of the natural light ring encompassing the planet against the starry backdrop from space.

The ISS also attached a link redirecting to NASA Johnson’s gallery on Flickr for even more pictures, along with elaborate details of the places photographed. The images captured by the crew showed the city lights of The Netherlands, England, France, and Belgium.

The ISS also attached a link redirecting to NASA Johnson’s gallery on Flickr for even more pictures, along with elaborate details of the places photographed. The images captured by the crew showed the city lights of The Netherlands, England, France, and Belgium.

Perhaps the most interesting image captured by the ISS astronauts for Indian enthusiasts was when the ISS was hovering above Afghanistan. The picture showed not just the lights of India and neighbours Pakistan, but also captured the well-lit border that separates the two countries.

NASA and ISS actively share fascinating astronomical-themed pictures from their various social media handles from time to time, giving a glimpse of the Earth and outer space from their unique perspective. Recent photographs depicting a ‘cosmic rose’ and a black hole ‘tsunami’ sparked intrigue and curiosity about these cosmic events.

The post shared by the ISS has already garnered nearly 120,000 likes on Instagram, while the post on Twitter has been retweeted several thousand times. It seems that people find it hard to get over the beauty of the Earth glowing amid the stars’ aura.