photo #7165469

Sometimes, you have to take a step back from something to appreciate it fully, and Space is a pretty big step back. Clouds like this bumpy layer of marine Stratocumulus near the Pacific coast of Mexico would have appeared low, dense, and grey from beneath. But from the International Space Station way above, the astronauts of Expedition 53 saw its intricate sunlit textures overlaid with shadows cast from streaks of Cirrus above, an otherwise hidden tapestry of light and shade.