Alpine NightMoonlight glints off coastal waters along the France-Italy border (map) in a picture snapped by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station in late April.

Snow-capped Alpine peaks are visible as dim gray blotches near a bright concentration of lights at left—the Italian city of Torino (Turin).

A similar beacon of urban life at center-bottom is Lyon, France, which links to a small dot of light along the coast—the port city of Marseille. The French-held island of Corsica appears as a dark mass rimmed with light near the top of the frame.
Photograph courtesy NASA

Space Photos This Week: Black Holes, Bent Moon, More

Alpine cities shimmer, "backward" black holes show their jet power, Earth crumples the moon, and more in the week's best space pictures.

Published June 3, 2010