Astronaut Chris Hadfield Takes Incredible Photographs of Earth from Space

Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfield captured these incredible photographs of Earth aboard the International Space Station. You wouldn’t have seen planet Earth from this angle before.

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‘On a clear day you can see forever,’ says Hadfield. ‘Or at least from Havana to Washington DC (Chris Hadfield/Macmillan)

On the right is Detroit, Michigan, and to the left Windsor, Ontario: ‘Two countries, one river,’ says Hadfield.

One quick look at our planet reminds me of the importance of Earth Day.

The wondrously wildly beautiful surface of our world; near the Etosha Pan in Africa.

Sandstorm on the edge of farming country in the American Northwest.

Goose Bay, Happy Valley, Labrador. I flew CF-18s as an RCAF fighter pilot here.

Off the coast of Indonesia.

Australia – the dryness creates colours and textures that make the wilderness immediately recognizable from space.

Clouds swoop in on Crimea, a white bird on the Black Sea.

You can see how high we are when you see how close this jet trail is to the ground.

Sand-blasted rocks of Sahara desert.

From seashells to galaxies to this storm, Nature loves spirals.

A clearer view of Vancouver on a sunny day.

Key West, Florida.

Smoke clouds over Australia.

A closer view of Qingdao (Tsingtao). You can see the bridge too.

Swirls in the Black Sea.

Spaceships glowing blue at the dawn.

A view of the jagged edge of the Himalayas, the snowy peaks in stark contrast to the deep green of the foothills.

The Nile, draining into the Mediterranean. ‘The bright lights of Cairo announce the opening of the north-flowing river’s delta,’ says Hadfield. ‘Israel is to the north-east. This 4,258 mile braid of human life is visible in a single glance from space.’

Looking out the windows of ISS, every day is Earth Day.

Colorado plateau along the Utah-Arizona border. The confluence of the Colorado and San Juan rivers can also be seen.

London

Lava Carbuncle – an ancient intrusion of tough, hard rock in south-western Africa.

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

Boston at night, glowing under a trace of fog.

San Francisco Bay with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge.

The Australian bushfires, this one near Burrinjuck Dam. Look closely and you can see the flames from orbit.

Thunderstorm from above.

Full Moon rising.

Images: Astronaut Chris Hadfield