Trip Ideas Space Travel + Astronomy 12 Photos of Earth From Space That Will Remind You How Beautiful the Planet Is By Jessica Plautz Jessica Plautz Jessica Plautz is the director of content operations at Dotdash Meredith. She previously served as the deputy digital editor of Travel + Leisure. Before joining T+L, Jessica was a travel editor at Mashable. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines Published on December 23, 2016 Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Tim Peake/Courtesy of ESA Space may be the final frontier, but Earth is a great place to start. And from space, this planet we're on is a marvel. The International Space Station circles Earth at a speed of 17,150 miles per hour, completing an orbit about every 92 minutes. As it makes the rounds, it captures gorgeous images of oceans, deserts, ranges, and more. And it's not the only spacecraft sending us back images of the world we live on. As 2016 comes to a close, take a moment to revel in the how Earth looks so small and yet so expansive in these photos from space. 01 of 12 Courtesy of NASA Taken by the Expedition 40 crew, aboard the International Space Station. 02 of 12 Courtesy of NASA Greece, as seen from the International Space Station. 03 of 12 Courtesy of NASA The Indian Ocean, just east of the island of Madagascar, as seen from the Gemini-6 spacecraft. 04 of 12 Courtesy of ESA 05 of 12 Courtesy of NASA Detroit, Cleveland, and Toronto as seen from the International Space Station. 06 of 12 Courtesy of NASA Taken during a night pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station. 07 of 12 Tim Peake/Courtesy of ESA ESA astronaut Tim Peake took this image of the U.K. and France from the Space Station. 08 of 12 Courtesy of ESA The Sentinel-2A satellite takes us over the Gibson Desert in Western Australia. 09 of 12 Courtesy of NASA Acquired by NASA's Terra spacecraft, this image shows the west coast of Greenland, one of Earth's premiere incubators for icebergs. 10 of 12 Courtesy of NASA Earth observation taken during night pass by an Expedition 36 crew member on board the International Space Station. 11 of 12 Courtesy of NASA Taken by the Expedition 36 crew on board the International Space Station. 12 of 12 Tim Peake/Courtesy of ESA Tim Peake took this picture during his six-month Principia on the International Space Station. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit