Canadian astronaut tweeting awesome earth photos shot from International Space Station

 

 

We love images from outer space but it's even better when they're captured by a real human behind the lens. (No offense to all the spectacular photos we've posted recently shot by satellites and the Cassini space probe.)

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield has kept our interest in space photography satiated thanks to his must-follow Twitter feed (@Cmdr_Hadfield) where he posts amazing images he's shot from on board the International Space Station (ISS).

Some of Hadfield's images, which feature geographical and natural phenomena on Earth, are posted below along with his Twitter captions. The cameras Hadfield's been using include the Nikon D2 and D3 and a variety of lenses, with the longest being a 400mm telephoto.

Hadfield arrived on board the ISS on December 21, 2012, from the Soyuz TMA-07M capsule as part of Expedition 35 to the ISS. He is set to become the first Canadian to command the ISS once the crew of the previous expedition departs.

Among his over 150,000 followers, Hadfield's Twitter feed has attracted some celebrities. Hadfield recently exchanged intergalactic tweets with fellow Canadian William Shatner who commanded the (fictional) starship Enterprise on Star Trek.

 

Glacier tongues in the Himalayas.

 

A crazed stained glass mosaic - the winter black and white of farms in central Asia.

 

Thunderstorm from above. What animal to you see?

 

Even from 400 km up you can sense the searing dryness of southern Saudi Arabia.

 

Humans need straight lines, nature doesn't. Indecisive river and orderly farmers, central Asia.

 

Volcanoes look dramatic at dawn. They startled me when I spotted them through the lens.