Astronauts' breath-taking views of earth from space showing mysterious ring around Tehran and other amazing rare images Astronauts from NASA and its international affiliate programs took awe-inspiring photos of our planet from outer space. The breath-taking photos show a peculiar purple ring around Tehran, Iran, as well volcanoes, deserts, Caribbean islands and Northern Lights, among other incredible sights. The images were taken from from the International Space Station and posted online by NASA astronaut Thomas Marshburn, Canadian astronaut Chris Hatfield and their space colleagues. 'The Earth has problem skin; one popped, the other didn't,' Hatfield jokingly wrote after uploading a volcano that had erupted next to a one that had not. Scroll down to see all 16 images. Chris Hadfield posted this photo on February 8 and wrote, 'Tehran, Iran - shining in the night. Does anyone know what the bright blue oval is? Twitter users responded that the glowing oval was the city's airport Sand art: On February 10, Hadfield tweeted this photo with the caption, 'If you give wind and sand enough time together, they create art' (The region was not identified) Soyuz Capsule: On February 12, Hadfield uploaded this photo of the Soyuz Capsule and wrote, 'Progress spaceship on final approach to dock. You could see the thrusters firing, like small spitting fountains Earth skin problems: On February 8, Hadfield uploaded this photo and jokingly wrote, "'The Earth has problem skin; one popped, the other didn't' (The region was not identified) Dust in the sea: Multiple dust plumes blow off the coast of Libya and over the Mediterranean Sea in this image taken from NASA's Aqua satellite in early February Under the clouds: In this satellite image, the summit of Indonesia's island volcano Paluweh is obscured by clouds Glacial water: Hadfield tweeted this photo on February 10 and wrote, 'Glacial water burping into the Atlantic in deep Southern Argentina' 'Dropped ice cream': On February 11, Hadfield uploaded this photo of the African ridges and wrote, 'Dropped ice cream. Doesn't it look like these African ridges are melting' Unique perspective: Hadfield uploaded this photo on February 10 and wrote, 'Your perspective often dictates what you see. From here I see a puffball on an oyster half-shell. How about you? The region was not identified Big storm: In early February, NASA captured a powerful storm with hurricane-force wind gusts pounding the northeastern U.S. for the second time in four months Snow days: NASA captured the nor¿easter that struck the northeastern United States on February 8 and 9, depositing snow across multiple states China clouds: Hadfield tweeted this pic on February 9 and wrote, 'Morning clouds cast self-important shadows off the coast of China' Peaceful day's end: NASA astronaut Thomas Marshburn tweeted this photo from the ISS on February 13 and wrote, 'The Caribbean and the ISS sharing an evening yesterday - wonderful and peaceful end to the day' Finale 1: Chris Hadfield tweeted this photo on February and 13 wrote 'Tonight's finale: The Sun just over the horizon silhouettes the complexities of our atmosphere' Finale 2: Hadfield uploaded this photo and wrote, 'Tonight's finale: Northern Lights - recent aurora in green and red waves, USA and Canada below, the universe above'