This is the image captured by Douglas H Wheelock last Tuesday morning from a spacecraft which was orbiting the earth.

The commander of Expedition 25 on the International Space Station,took the picture from 425km above earth.

The mission commander described it as a "beautiful night pass over the Emerald Isle… a little foggy, but otherwise a clear night."

Wheelock is the only astronaut to photograph the planet, after capturing the image he shared the view with the 50,000 or so people who follow his Twitter account.