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Star Trails: Long-exposure photos from space

By Camille Mann

/ CBS News

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit took several long-exposure photographs while orbiting the Earth on Expedition 31, where he was a flight engineer. To capture the light trails Pettit took multiple 30-second exposures and combined them digitally to create images that resembled 10- to 15-minute exposures. The result of which show trails of several stars, auroras and thunderstorms across the surface of the Earth.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

29Star_Trails.jpg
NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

10Star_Trails.jpg
NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

35Star_Trails.jpg
NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

13Star_Trails.jpg
NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

16Star_Trails.jpg
NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

25Star_Trails.jpg
NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.

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NASA/Don Pettit
NASA astronaut Don Pettit shot stunning time-lapse photos while aboard the International Space Station in 2012.
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