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Space & science

Earth from space: free photos from orbit

Free photos of Earth taken from orbit by the ISS, satellites and Apollo: city lights at night, storms, coastlines and sunrise over the horizon, from NASA.

Images
15 images
Sources
from 2 sources
1080 px or larger
13 at 1080 px or larger
Cleared for commercial use
15 cleared for commercial use
Editorial use only
1 editorial-only
Direct downloads
15 with direct download
Updated

Search live for “earth from space”Use it from code or an agent

15 images

Picked automatically from a live search of 33 sites and refreshed daily. Thumbnails load straight from the source, never through this site. Each image belongs to its creator: check its licence on the source page before you publish.

The planet from above

Astronauts on the International Space Station photograph Earth every day: coastlines, deserts, hurricanes, auroras and the lights of cities at night. NASA’s satellites add whole-planet composites such as the Blue Marble, and the Apollo missions took the first photos of Earth from deep space.

These pages collect them from the NASA Image and Video Library and Wikimedia Commons.

Using them

Earth-from-orbit photos are among the most useful space images for design: no people or logos, dramatic colour, and space around the subject for text. Credit NASA (or the crew photographer, such as NASA/ISS Expedition 70), and avoid using them in a way that implies NASA endorses your product.

Questions

Is the Blue Marble photo free to use?
Yes. NASA's Blue Marble images are US government works; credit NASA and don't imply endorsement.
Which images show Earth at night?
Search 'earth at night' or 'city lights': astronauts on the ISS photograph cities, and NASA's Black Marble composites show the whole planet.

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