Astronaut Captures a Fisherman’s Glow From Orbit Aboard the International Space Station

Photo credit: NASA | Zena Cardman
As night falls over the Arabian Sea and India’s west coast, something remarkable happens. The fishing boats turn on their bright green lights to attract squid, shrimp, sardines, and mackerel, with the glowing dots lighting up the black waters. From the dock or the beach, it’s just a normal sight, a bunch of ships doing their thing long after the sun has set, but up in the International Space Station, 259 miles above the earth, those same lights transform into brilliant streaks and bursts of color that compete with city lights for attention and, in some cases, appear much brighter than entire cities.

Astronaut Zena Cardman was in control of the camera during routine Crew Earth Observations. This is an initiative that has taken hundreds of thousands of photos of what we’re doing on Earth and how the planet is changing. What you see is a sea of dark water, with these bright green streaks emerging where all the boats are concentrating their efforts. On land, city lights give a gentle yellowish glow. The contrast is startling between these clean small blobs of light on the ocean and the spreading mass of city lights.

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The reason boats use green lights in the first place is that artificial light attracts many aquatic species. They approach it because they believe there is food there, or because they are simply interested. That is precisely what the fisherman are depending on. So, at night, when visibility is limited and the fish are swimming near the surface, fishermen may see them and catch more. When a group of boats lights up the sea at the same moment, it resembles a collection of small villages floating on the water. Each boat is a sharp little point, but when combined, they form long, bright streaks that depict the boats traveling over the water.

City lights, on the other hand, present a very different story since they show us where the roads, buildings, homes, and industries are. It’s really evident from orbit. Cities sprawl along beaches and down into valleys, emitting a single, continuous glow. In contrast, fishing lights remain out at sea. They are usually lines or curves of light that follow the best fishing spots. The green tint of the boat lights is another feature that makes them stick out, as it is not a color commonly seen while looking down at streetlights and buildings.