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.

June 3, 2010