ISS Captures Utah’s Goosenecks, Highlighting Ancient River Erosion and Dark‑Sky Opportunities

On October 6, 2026, an astronaut aboard the International Space Station photographed Utah’s Goosenecks State Park with a Nikon Z9 camera, revealing the San Juan River’s deep, horseshoe‑shaped meanders carved into 300‑million‑year‑old rock. The image shows how the Colorado Plateau’s uplift raised the river’s headwaters about 20 million years ago, steepening its gradient and accelerating erosion that deepened the canyon to 1,000 feet. The photo, freely released by NASA’s Earth Observations Facility, will aid scientists in mapping river incision and sediment transport. The park’s 2021 International Dark Sky designation, combined with its high‑desert location, makes it a prime spot for viewing the Northern and Southern Taurids and the Leonids meteor showers in November 2026, linking geological history with astronomical events.