See Earth's atmosphere glow gold in gorgeous photo taken from the International Space Station

This high-exposure photo from the International Space Station shows Earth's atmospheric glow and a starry sky as the orbital complex soared 258 miles (415 kilometers) above the Pacific Ocean northeast of Papua New Guinea. (Image credit: NASA)

A golden glow illuminates Earth's horizon in a stunning new image from the International Space Station.

The atmospheric glow, or airglow, captured in the new photo occurs when sunlight interacts with atoms and molecules within Earth's atmosphere. The new photo, which NASA shared on Jan. 21, shows a bright golden glow arching above Earth, along with an auburn-colored band against the dark contrast of a starry sky backdrop.

The photo was taken at an altitude of 258 miles (415 kilometers) as the orbiting lab flew over the Pacific Ocean northeast of Papua New Guinea, according to a NASA image description.

Airglow is the result of an interaction in Earth's upper atmosphere, whereby molecules of nitrogen, oxygen, sodium and ozone are excited by ultraviolet radiation from sunlight and, in turn, emit light as they collide with one another. This type of light show is best seen at night. So the recent photo was captured at a high exposure, allowing enough light to enter the camera to see Earth and the star-studded sky.

Traveling at a speed of 5 miles (8 kilometers) per second, the International Space Station (ISS) orbits Earth about every 90 minutes, traveling through 16 sunrises and sunsets in a 24-hour period. The space station experiences about 45 minutes of daylight and 45 minutes of darkness in each revolution.

In addition to the colorful golden auburn glow, the photo captures white wispy cloud tops above the dark blue of the Pacific Ocean. Parts of the space station itself also snuck into view, including the Prichal docking module and the Nauka multipurpose laboratory module, both of which belong to Russia's space agency Roscosmos.