See those explosions of light against the backdrop of our ever-spinning Earth? They are meteors burning through our planet's mesosphere, captured from the International Space Station in a time lapse made of 316 still frames by astronaut Don Pettit.


The meteors are the Lyrids, a meteor shower that happens each year, when Earth crosses material left by the periodic Comet C/1861 G1 Thatcher.

I don't think I would be able to be an astronaut on board the ISS. I would be looking through the cupola constantly.