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May 27, 2026
A period of unsettled weather brought
scattered showers and thunderstorms
to California’s Bay Area on May 27, 2026. That afternoon, a break in the clouds left downtown San Francisco and nearby communities beneath mostly cloud-free skies, allowing an astronaut aboard the International Space Station to take this photograph.
The image captures two of the region’s iconic bridges. The Golden Gate Bridge connects the northern San Francisco Peninsula with Marin County to the north, while the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge spans the bay toward Oakland to the east.
Near the center of the image,
Golden Gate Park
stands out as a long, rectangular strip of green amid the dense urban landscape. Spanning more than 1,000 acres (400 hectares), the park encompasses meadows, gardens, wooded areas, and lakes. Additional green space toward the north around the Golden Gate Bridge is part of a
national recreation area
.
The nadir (downward-looking) perspective also provides a clear view of the patchwork of
street grids
, which were laid out over San Francisco’s hilly terrain as the city grew in successive stages. In the heart of the downtown area, Market Street runs southwest to northeast and serves as a prominent divider between two distinct grid orientations: one aligned with the bay and the other aligned with the street.
Along the northeastern and eastern waterfront, various structures extend into the bay. Toward the north, these include a
historic
wharf, seawalls, and piers—most built in the early 1900s, though some date back into the 1800s. The adjacent waters support heavy maritime traffic, including cargo and container ships, cruise vessels, and regional ferries.
Breaking waves are visible along the western coast, including at
Ocean Beach
, the 3.5-mile stretch of sandy shore adjacent to Golden Gate Park. On May 27, the National Weather Service
warned of hazardous conditions
at the region’s beaches due to strong northerly winds. Long-period swells from the northwest contributed to the
increased risk
of rip currents as well as
sneaker waves
in the days after this image was acquired.
Astronaut photograph
ISS074-E-619284
was acquired on May 27, 2026, with a Nikon Z9 digital camera using a focal length of 800 millimeters. It is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at NASA Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by a member of the
Expedition 74 crew
. The image has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The
International Space Station Program
supports the laboratory as part of the
ISS National Lab
to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC
Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth
. Story by Kathryn Hansen.
Downloads
May 27, 2026
JPEG (12.13 MB)
References & Resources
California State Parks,
Port of San Francisco Embarcadero Historic District
. Accessed June 8, 2026.
National Park Service,
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
. Accessed June 8, 2026.
NWS Bay Area via X (2026, May 27)
Heading to the beach tomorrow?
Accessed June 8, 2026.
NWS Bay Area via X (2026, May 27)
Radar Update: Showers with brief downpours and some isolated thunderstorms are winding down
. Accessed June 8, 2026.
NWS Bay Area via X (2026, May 26)
The ocean is not your friend today and tomorrow!
Accessed June 8, 2026.
San Francisco Recreation & Parks,
Discover Golden Gate Park
. Accessed June 8, 2026.
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— Source: NASA News (https://science.nasa.gov/missions/station/san-franciscos-metropolitan-mosaic/)