From the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Commander Barry Wilmore took this photograph of the Great Lakes and central U.S. on Dec. 7, 2014, and posted it to social media.
This week on the station, the Expedition 42 crew has been busy with medical science and spacesuit work while preparing for the arrival of SpaceX's Dragon commercial cargo craft, scheduled to launch on Dec. 16 on a two day trip to the station before it is captured by the Canadarm2 and berthed to the Harmony node.
22. Earth, Moon, Hubble
SSpace Shuttle Discovery's crew witnessed this bright full moon from orbit during a December 1999 mission that included servicing the Hubble Space Telescope (the top of which is seen on the right).
To the left is Earth's horizon; the full moon on that day, Dec. 22, was brighter than average because it was full at nearly the same time it was at its closest to the Earth at a time when the Earth was relatively close to the sun.