Watch: Astronaut captures stunning time-lapse of zodiacal light from ISS
What's the story
Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui has shared a breathtaking time-lapse video of Earth from the International Space Station (ISS). The video was taken on Yui's 300th cumulative day in space during his second mission aboard the orbital station. It starts with a stunning display of zodiacal light, created by sunlight reflecting off interplanetary dust particles.
Twitter Post
Take a look at the video
300日間も貴重な経験をさせて頂いているお礼に、少し珍しい窓からのタイムラプスを紹介させて頂きます。
— 油井 亀美也 Kimiya.Yui (@Astro_Kimiya) January 6, 2026
日没直後の黄道光や中盤以降のオーロラも美しいですが、太陽電池パネルの動きがなんともSF的です。
星が好きな方は、みずがめ座、ペガスス座、アンドロメダ座、すばる等も探してみてくださいね！ pic.twitter.com/I7rdb8reqV
Celestial display
Video captures Earth's auroras
As the zodiacal light fades, the video captures green auroras dancing in Earth's upper atmosphere. The phenomenon can be seen shimmering between the solar panels of the space station as they rotate to track sunlight. The bright stars of constellations Pegasus, Andromeda, and Ares also appear in the footage as ISS completes its orbit around Earth.
Star cluster
Pleiades star cluster spotted
Towards the end of the footage, eagle-eyed viewers can spot the seven brightest white-blue stars of the open star cluster Pleiades. They appear to descend toward the modular form of ISS. The video was shared by Yui on social media platform X with a note expressing his gratitude for the experience over 300 days in space.