{"id":860051,"date":"2026-06-11T14:43:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T14:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/860051\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T14:43:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T14:43:20","slug":"astronaut-spots-mount-etna-vesuvius-from-space-station-see-photos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/860051\/","title":{"rendered":"Astronaut spots Mount Etna, Vesuvius from space station. See photos"},"content":{"rendered":"

An astronaut on the International Space Station<\/a> recently captured a stunning view of the famous volcanoes Mount Etna and Vesuvius all the way from orbit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sophie Adenot, a French astronaut with the European Space Agency, became the latest spacefarer aboard the iconic orbital outpost<\/a> to put her astral photography skills<\/a> to the test. In a series of photos, Adenot documented two of Europe’s active and most dangerous volcanoes, including Vesuvius \u2013 infamously responsible for burying Pompeii in ash<\/a> more than 1,900 years ago.<\/p>\n

When the astronauts on the ISS flew overheard<\/a>, Vesuvius \u2013 which has not erupted since 1944 \u2013 appeared serene, while Etna was seen quietly spewing hot gases and vapors.<\/p>\n

In honor of Earth Day, see these photos of our planet from space<\/p>\n

1 of 12<\/p>\n

The crew of Artemis II captured a breathtaking image of a celestial event known as an “Earthset,” in which the Earth dropped below the lunar horizon. The image is reminiscent of the iconic “Earthrise” photo that NASA astronaut Bill Anders captured in 1968 during the Apollo 8 mission that showed our planet rising on the lunar horizon.<\/p>\n

(Provided by NASA)<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at Adenot’s photos of Mount Vesuvius from the space station.<\/p>\n

What is the International Space Station?<\/p>\n

The International Space Station<\/a>\u00a0has been stationed\u00a0in low-Earth orbit for more than 25 years, typically about 260 miles high, where it has been\u00a0home to astronauts from all over the world<\/a>. Throughout its lifespan, the station has served as a test bed<\/a> for scientific research in microgravity and has in years past opened itself up to private commercial missions.<\/p>\n

The orbital laboratory\u00a0is operated through a global partnership<\/a> of space agencies, including NASA, Roscosmos, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.<\/p>\n

More than 290 spacefarers from 26 countries have visited the International Space Station,\u00a0including 170 from the United States<\/a>\u00a0alone, according to NASA.<\/p>\n

International Space Station marks 25 years with humans on board. See photos<\/p>\n

1 of 13<\/p>\n

NASA astronaut Mike Fincke inserts a cryogenic storage unit containing research samples into a science freezer for preservation and later analysis on the International Space Station.<\/p>\n

(NASA)Astronaut spots Mount Etna, Vesuvius from ISS<\/p>\n

Adenot<\/a> caught a glimpse at the end of May of both Mount Etna and Mount Vesuvius as the ISS flew over Italy.<\/p>\n

Adenot was able to capture a series of striking photos of the famed volcanoes, four of which she shared on social media site X<\/a>. The unexpected view of Mount Vesuvius, located east of Naples, came moments after the astronauts also witnessed Mount Etna nearby on the east coast of Sicily.<\/p>\n

“From orbit, volcanoes are some of the most beautiful natural sights,” Adenot said in the post.<\/p>\n

Vesuvius, she added, is “instantly recognizable by the vast crater, the path winding up to the summit, and, most of all, Naples spread out all around it.”<\/p>\n

What astronauts are on the International Space Station?SpaceX Crew-12 mission to send 4 astronauts to space station. Photos<\/p>\n

1 of 9<\/p>\n

The four crew members representing NASA\u2019s SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station pose for a portrait at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut and Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, Crew-12 Pilot and Commander respectively, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Mission Specialist Sophie Adenot.<\/p>\n

(NASA\/James Blair)<\/p>\n

Adenot is one of seven astronauts<\/a> who are part of Expedition 74<\/a> now living and working aboard the International Space Station.<\/p>\n

Adenot was part of a crew of four who are part of the Crew-12 mission<\/a> that docked in mid-February: NASA astronauts Jessica Meir<\/a> and\u00a0Jack Hathaway<\/a>\u00a0and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. The Crew-12 contingent are due to depart in September following the arrival of Crew-13<\/a>.<\/p>\n

NASA astronaut Chris Williams<\/a>\u00a0and Russians Sergey Mikaev and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, who arrived at the end of November<\/a> on a Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft, will also be at the orbital laboratory until their replacements arrive in July.<\/p>\n

This article was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.<\/p>\n

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Striking photos show Mount Vesuvius, Etna from space as ISS orbits overhead<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An astronaut on the International Space Station recently captured a stunning view of the famous volcanoes Mount Etna…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":860052,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[24],"tags":[350815,44680,350816,3057,350814,159,258928,783,67,132,68,350813],"class_list":["post-860051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-adenot-sophie","tag-european-space-agency","tag-famous-volcanoes","tag-international-space-station","tag-mount-etna","tag-science","tag-sophie-adenot","tag-space","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-vesuvius"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116732009131445732","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=860051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/860051\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/860052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=860051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=860051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=860051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}