International Space Station Commander Dan Burbank was in the right place at the right time yesterday — 239 miles above Earth's horizon in fact — when he spotted Comet Lovejoy putting on a show as it passed Earth back into space.

The view we see here is when Lovejoy was seen while the ISS was orbiting the "night" or dark side of the Earth. We are treated to the comet's bright light as it grows closer to Earth's horizon, which shows as a glowing blue and green light.

The drama of Comet Lovejoy has been tantalizing us for the past week or so. First spotted by a ground observer, scientists at space observatories then got a read on it and charted it heading straight towards the sun. Made up of primarily ice and dirt, the hapless comet was expected to melt, but surprised everyone by whizzing just past the sun's corona to appear behind the sun.

The chance of a lifetime photos wowed Commander Burbank and the world as he captured it on its journey back into the depths of space.

Source: DVICE

Plucky Comet Lovejoy Pictures

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