Sunday, March 3, 2013

Fascinating Stuff ... Astronaut Mail

NASA astronaut Douglas Wheelock who is currently
aboard the International Space Station shares pictures
of the Earth he snaps with the world through Twitter.
( http://twitter.com/#!/astro_wheels )
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 in June, 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 .


" 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.


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 ..



The moon is breathtaking.

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 .

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.

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.

Another spectacular sunset. We see 16 such sunsets
each day, and each of them is really valuable.

Beautiful atoll in the Pacific Ocean , photographed
using 400mm lens. Approximately 1930 km south
of Honolulu ..

Perfect reflection of sunlight in the eastern Mediterranean ..

Above the center of the Atlantic Ocean , before
another stunning sunset. Downstairs in the setting
sun visible spiral Hurricane Earl.

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.

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.

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 Greece on the horizon.

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 .

Our unmanned 'Progress 39P' approaches the ISS
for refuelling. 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!

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.

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 .

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.

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.

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.

"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.

Florida and southeastern U.S. in the evening. A clear
autumn evening, the moonlight over the water and
sky, dotted with millions of stars.


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.


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.


Astronaut Douglas Wheelock

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