On September 22, 2010 Astronaut Douglas Wheelock took command of the International Space Station and began sending images back to earth via Twitter as did Astronaut Soichi Noguchi from Japan before him. All photos below are by Wheelock unless otherwise specified.
Florida
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
The Nile River.
The Nile River at night.
Mt. Fuji by Noguchi.
London and Paris. Note fog around London.
Sunrise over the Andes.
The space station makes one rotation around the Earth every 90 minutes, at a speed of 17,500 miles (28,163 kilometers) per hour or 5 miles (8 kilometers) per second. Therefore, according to Wheelock, “We watch sunsets and sunrises every 45 minutes.”
Patagonia lies at the southern end of South America. This view includes rugged mountains, massive glaciers, fjords and seas.
Italy. Note the boot.
Pico De Orizaba, Mexico’s highest mountain by Noguchi.
San Francisco, California’s Golden Gate Bridge by Noguchi.
The dome through which these images were taken. This pic was taken by Russian astronaut Fedor from the window of the Russian docking compartment. It shows Wheelock preparing the camera for the evening flight over Hurricane Earl.
View from inside the dome.
Space shuttle approaching the space station.
Shuttle about to land at space station, by Noguchi.
The moon from space.
Space station.
Astronaut Douglas Wheelock.
Thanks to cousin Mike.
As usual, WOW!!
I am feeling so lucky to have a friend like you, Dusky! How would I see these wonders otherwise? These are just beautiful and so amazing! My grandchildren enjoy them, too! Spaced-out, Lorie
The views from space are spectacular, unbelievable and leaving one thinking non stop about the Creator of it all! I am just marvelling at what I am seeing. Keep up the good work Ladies and Gentlemen from Space. You were born for a reason.
Thank you, Douglas Wheelock. Faboluous pics. I can only imagine……
Wow! Thanks for showing this. I am so happy and thankful and appreciative that the public ( like me) get to see these things. At 63 yrears old. I find this amazing! But I’m also behind and confused. What is the other airplane thing? Does it carry the shuttle back to earth?