Douglas Wheelock, an astronaut on the International Space Station, has been sharing impressive photos of Earth on Twitter with his nearly 68,000 followers. The photos show various landscapes from above including Greek islands at night, a mysterious unidentified island, the northern lights over Europe, sunsets seen from the station every 45 minutes, atolls in the Pacific Ocean, and more natural wonders from around the world. Wheelock hopes to visit Australia someday to see Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, up close.
NASA Astronaut Shares Stunning Photos From Space Station
1. NEW ASTRONAUT PICTURES
NASA astronaut Douglas Wheelock who returned this month from the
International Space Station shares pictures of the Earth he snapped for the
world through Twitter.
Known to his nearly 68,000 Twitter followers as Astro_Wheels, Wheelock
has been posting impressive photos of the Earth and some of his thoughts
ever since he moved into the space station, five months after it got Internet
access.
Greek islands on a clear night during our flight over Europe. Athens shine
brightly along the Mediterranean Sea.
2. ' Mystery Island ' ...located in the Indian Ocean close to Madagascar.
Interesting features on the island and the unusual shape should be enough
to help you discover this beautiful place.
3. Northern lights in the distance in one of the finest nights over Europe. The
photo clearly shows the Strait of Dover. Paris is dazzling with the city
lights. A little fog over the western part of England, particularly over
London.
5. Of all the places of our beautiful planet few can rival the beauty and
richness of colors in the Bahamas. In this photo, our ship is seen against
the backdrop of the Bahamas .
6. At a speed of 28,163 kilometers per hour (8 kilometers per second), we
rotate the Earth's orbit, making one revolution every 90 minutes, and watch
sunsets and sunrises every 45 minutes. So half of our journey is in
darkness. For the work we use lights on our helmets.
7. Every time I look out the window and see our beautiful planet, my soul
sings! I see blue skies, white clouds and bright blessed day.
11. Above the center of the Atlantic Ocean, before another stunning sunset.
Downstairs in the setting sun visible spiral Hurricane Earl.
12. A little farther east, we saw a sacred monolith Uluru, better known as
Ayers Rock. I have never had the opportunity to visit Australia, but
someday I hope that I will stand by this miracle of nature.
13. Morning over the Andes in South America. I do not know for sure the title
of this peak, but was simply amazed by her magic, stretching to the sun
and wind tops.
14. Over the Sahara desert, approaching the ancient lands and thousand-year
history. River Nile flows through Egypt by the Pyramids of Giza in Cairo.
Further, the Red Sea, Sinai Peninsula, Dead Sea, Jordan River, as well as
the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea and Greeceon the horizon.
15. Night view of the River Nile, stretching like a snake through Egypt to the
Mediterranean, and Cairo, located in the Delta. Far away in this picture,
one can see the Mediterranean Sea.
16. Our unmanned 'Progress 39P' approaches the ISS for refueling. It is full of
food, fuel, spare parts and all necessities for our station. Inside was a real
gift - fresh fruit and vegetables. What a miracle after three months of food
from a tube!
17. I wanted to share with you this view from the Dome. We said goodbye to
the members of our group Sasha, Misha and Tracy this weekend, and they
returned safely back to Earth. In this photo, Tracy quietly dreams of
returning home.
18. Module Union 23C Olympus docked with the ISS. When our work ends
here, we go back home to Earth. We fly over the snow-capped peaks of the
Caucasus. The rising sun is reflected from the Caspian Sea.
19. The flash of color, movement and life on the canvas of our amazing world.
This is part of the Great Barrier Reef off the east coast of Australia,
photographed through the lens of 1200 mm.
20. All the beauty of Italy, a clear summer night. You can see many beautiful
islands that adorn the coast - Capri, Sicily and Malta. Naples and Mount
Vesuvius are allocated along the coast.
21. At the southern end of South America lies the pearl of Patagonia. The
amazing beauty of rugged mountains, massive glaciers, fjords and seas
combined in perfect harmony.
22. "Dome" on the side of nadir station gives a panoramic view of our
beautiful planet. Fedor made the picture from the window of the Russian
docking compartment. In this photo I'm sitting in the dome, preparing the
camera for our evening flight over Hurricane Earl.
23. Florida and southeastern U.S. in the evening. A clear autumn evening, the
moonlight over the water and sky, dotted with millions of stars.
24. Clear starry night over the eastern Mediterranean. The ancient land with a
thousand years of history stretching from Athens to Cairo. Historical land
of fabulous and alluring island ... Athens - Crete - Rhodes - Izmir - Ankara
- Cyprus - Damascus - Beirut - Haifa - Amman - Tel Aviv - Jerusalem -
Cairo - all of them turned into tiny lights in this cool November night.
25. In this time of year you can enjoy the beauty of the polar mesospheric
clouds. With our high-angle illumination, we were able to capture a thin
layer of noctilucent clouds at sunset.