These smartphone photos of Earth from space by China's Shenzhou 12 astronauts are just gorgeous - Space.com

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China's Shenzhou 12 astronauts have been back on Earth for nearly a month, but we just got a look at some of the gorgeous photos they captured in orbit — with smartphones.

A first series of stunning images were posted by China's human spaceflight agency, CMSA, toward the end of the three-person mission, which was the first crewed visit to China's Tianhe space station module.

A newly released settaken by Shenzhou 12 astronauts Liu Boming and Tang Hongo shows nighttime views of China and surrounding areas, including the northeastern cities of Shenyang and Changchun, the Bohai Sea, Hangzhou Bay and Taiwan.

A shot of the northeastern Chinese cities of Shenyang and Changchun, taken by Shenzhou 12 astronaut Liu Boming. (Image credit: CMSA)

One of the images also captures a curve of light above Earth, a phenomenon created by light passing through sodium atoms in the atmosphere around 50 miles to 65 miles (80 to 105 kilometers) up.

Another set of images published by China Central Television (CCTV) revealed that the astronauts had been taking the shots through a window on Tianhe using their smartphones, with Tang half-lying on his bed to capture one photo with his phone.

The bay of the eastern city of Hangzhou, captured by Tang Hongbo. — The bay of the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, captured by Tang Hongbo. (Image credit: CMSA)

Chinese netizens notedin footage from Tianhe in June that the astronauts had with them various Chinese-made devices, including a Huawei P30 mobile phone.

Shenzhou 12 launched in June and returned to Earth on Sept. 17. The three astronauts, led by commander Nie Haisheng, carried out a range of experiments and conducted two spacewalks during their stay aboard Tianhe.