BBC News / YouTube

BEST WATCHED IN full screen, this timelapse of the International Space Station flying over a violent lightening storm has a strange calmness.

It was taken by British astronaut Tim Peake, who tweeted it yesterday.

As well as the intense lightening strikes, bright lights punctuate the dark deserts as ISS flies northeastward from North Africa over Turkey towards Russia.

Travelling at 17,500 mp/h at a height of 250 miles, the space station’s station’s crew can see three continents at once as it crosses the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

Peake is the first British astronaut to crew aboard ISS, joining the space station yesterday for a six month mission.

Amazing how much lightning can strike our planet in a short time #Principia #timelapse https://t.co/XijV5E1pI0
— Tim Peake (@astro_timpeake) February 9, 2016

Tim Peake / Twitter

Read: ‘Hello, is this planet Earth?’: Astronaut apologises after calling wrong number from space >

Read: UK astronaut Tim Peake arrives at International Space Station >

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More