Tweeting From Space: Astronauts’ Pics of Earth From Orbit

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station aren’t just good for flying around on magic carpets and producing super-strong Salmonella strains; it turns out they’re into photography, too. Astronauts Jose Hernandez (US) and Soichi Noguchi (Japan) have been snapping incredible pics of Earth and space, then posting them on Twitter. (Hernandez is no longer aboard the ISS, but does still tweet space-related pictures.) The above picture is Moscow, captured by Soichi.

The above pictures, the Maldive Islands and Aruba Antilles, show a unique perspective: pictures of places that most of us would love to be, taken from a place that most of us will never get to go.

These pictures show Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Golden Gate Bridge from above. Both of these objects appear huge to us here on Earth, but from space their tiny size is humbling. Follow Astro_Jose and Astro_Soichi on Twitter for all of their updates from space, including new and fascinating pictures.

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See more in Space & Time or under Science. February, 2010.