NASA scientists have just released the first new global map of Earth at night since 2012. This nighttime look at our home planet, dubbed the Black Marble, provides researchers with a unique perspective of human activities around the globe
It's not your average travel brochure - out of this world photos snapped 400 kilometres above the earth.
International Space Station astronaut Thomas Pesquet was orbiting above New Zealand when he looked down on some of our most beautiful South Island landscapes.
He picked up his camera and begantaking photos.
The most striking showed a row of mountains described by Pesquet as being in the vicinity of New Zealand's highest peak, Aoraki/Mt Cook.
In a photo posted to Pesquet's Twitter account last night ripples of snow-dusted peaks, ridges and valleys, surrounded by turquoise snow-fed lakes, can be seen.
The photo posted on Twitter shows the snow-dusted peaks, ridges and valleys. Photo / @Thom_astro Twitter
Pesquet wants to go.
In an English caption accompanying the photo, the Frenchman described the area as "another beautiful landscape I'd love to explore one day".
In a second posting of the photo, with a caption in his native language, Pesquet wrote that it was impossible to talk about New Zealand without "invoking its national parks".
