Golden Lake

A stretch of golden light glimmers across the middle of this photograph, where sunlight bounces off the surface of the ocean far below. This effect is called sunglint, and it happens when the sun hits the water at just the right angle to reflect straight back toward the camera. Everything else in the frame stays in shadowy blues and grays, which makes that bright ribbon of gold feel like a spotlight cutting through the clouds. The curve of Earth arcs along the top, edged by the thin blue line of our atmosphere.

This image comes from NASA, likely captured by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station as it orbited about 250 miles above the planet. Photos like this one are not staged or planned in the usual sense. Astronauts often keep cameras ready by the windows and snap pictures whenever something catches their eye, and the sunglint effect is a favorite because it turns ordinary seawater into something that looks almost molten. The clouds scattered across the scene give a sense of just how vast the view really is, with weather systems spread out beneath a single beam of reflected light.