The young lunar crescent as seen from the International Space Station by ESA astronaut Tim Peake on 9 February 2016.
Tim commented on his picture: “Tonight’s waxing Moon — setting soon after the Sun.”
At the time of the photograph the Moon was just 1.2 days old. Features on the Earth-facing side of the Moon not directly illuminated by the Sun are glowing softly due to earthshine, light reflected onto the Moon from our planet.
You can see more of Tim’s photos on his flickr photostream.
Tim’s six-month mission to the International Space Station is named Principia, after Isaac Newton’s ground-breaking Naturalis Principia Mathematica, which describes the principal laws of motion and gravity.
He is performing more than 30 scientific experiments for ESA and taking part in numerous others from ESA’s international partners.
ESA and the UK Space Agency have partnered to develop many exciting educational activities around the Principia mission, aimed at sparking the interest of young children in science and space.
More about the Principia mission: http://www.esa.int/principia