Published: September 23, 2011 at 09:18
In March 2011, American astronaut, retired US Air Force Colonel Ronald John Garan, went to the ISS on the Soyuz spacecraft to spend 6 unforgettable months in orbit. Many astronauts and cosmonauts have gone into space in our memory, despite this, each of them remains a hero for us. They sacrifice themselves and achieve great results. Ronald is now part of Expedition 27/28. Since his time on the ISS, he has been posting his space photos on Twitter, where he is known as @Astro_Ron.
1. Go, Atlantis! 
2. View of the Earth from the ISS: Gulf of St. Lawrence.
3. NASA astronaut Ronald John Garan was born on October 30, 1961 in Yonkers, New York. He has numerous awards in his arsenal, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal, the Air Force Medal for Aerial Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal, Humanitarian Service Award, Special Commendation to the Air Force ( Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor, as well as the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal.
In addition, he is a distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Fighter Weapons School; was twice elected as the chief military instructor of this school; is an honorary graduate of the Squadron Officer School, an honorary Doctor of Science from the State University of New York, and holds the Major General Claire Lee Chennault Tactics Center Award.
4. View of the ISS from Atlantis.
6. Earth from the ISS: English Channel, England and the Netherlands.
7. Earth from the ISS: Clear day over the island of Newfoundland.
8. Earth from the ISS: Dawn over the Californian coast.
9. Earth from the ISS: Los Angeles at night.
10. Incredible photos from space: Sunrise.
11. Earth from the ISS: England
An incredible sunset over England on the eve of the royal wedding of William and Kate on April 28, 2011.
12. Earth from the ISS: Turks and Caicos Islands
A truly wonderful photo of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Inagua and Cuba are hidden behind the clouds.
14. Earth from the ISS: Hamptons and New London.
15. Earth from the ISS: Southern coast of Spain
I guess this is the southern coast of Spain in the last glimpse of the day. May 1, 2011.
16. Earth from the ISS: heavenly smile
Seeing this would make me smile too.
17. Earth from the ISS: Ron Garan walks into outer space against the backdrop of the Persian Gulf
This is a world famous photograph.
18. Earth from the ISS: Peak Cristobal Colon.
The snow cap of Cristobal Colon peak breaks through the fog. Colombia, Caribbean coast.
19. Earth from the ISS: New Zealand.
20. Earth from the ISS: New Orleans.
New Orleans and the Mississippi River.
21. Earth from the ISS: Molniya. View from space.
This is what lightning during meteor showers looks like from space.
22. Earth from the ISS: Corsica and southern France.
This is what the sunset over Corsica, Sardinia, the French and Italian Riviera looked like from space on August 20, 2011.
23. Earth from the ISS: Denmark.
Denmark and southern Sweden.
24. Earth from the ISS: Great Lakes.
Toronto, Buffalo, Ontario, Erie and Huron.
25. Earth from the ISS: Lake Powell and southwestern Colorado.
26. Earth from the ISS: Lake Superior, one of the five Great Lakes.
Canada's Lake Nipigon flows into Lake Superior.
27. Earth from the ISS: Burning swamps near New Orleans.
August 28, 2011: The New Orleans Fire Department lets them burn to the ground.
28. Earth from the ISS: Iceberg in the Labrador Sea.
A lone iceberg in the Labrador Sea near the town of Petty Harbor. It is larger in area than Yonkers, Ron's hometown.
29. Earth from the ISS: Megapolis.
Night over one of the coastal Atlantic cities of the United States and its suburbs. April 6, 2011. Photo taken during Expedition 27 to the ISS.
The territories and populations of large cities are constantly growing, becoming centers of economic, political and social life. Such concentrations are called urban agglomerations or megacities. One of the largest agglomerations in the world stretches along the eastern Atlantic coast of the United States and is called the Atlantic Seaboard Conurbation (ASC). This agglomeration is more than 1000 km long. includes major economic, political and cultural centers such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington.
All of the listed metropolises are present in the photograph, with the exception of Boston, Massachusetts, which was not included in the frame because located northeast of New York. Megacities were filmed at night, each of them glowing with millions of lights. The network of transport links between cities contributed to the formation and growth of megacities (highway, rail and air links). Transport was used to move goods, raw materials, materials and people between cities. At the top right are two other agglomerates that are not included in the ASC. These are Norfolk and Richmond in Virginia.
In contrast to the glowing halo of metropolitan cities and towns, the Atlantic Ocean is a dark spot in the upper left part of the image.
30. Earth from the ISS: Cairo.
The night over the Nile Delta and the Mediterranean Sea was captured by one of the members of Expedition 28 aboard the ISS from an altitude of approximately 354 km. August 18, 2011. Lens focal length 38 mm.
31. Earth from the ISS: Horseshoe forest fire in Arizona.
Horseshoe 2 wildfire, Arizona. May 8, 2011. A photograph taken by one of the ISS Expedition 27 crew members shows the Horseshoe 2 forest fire in Arizona. This fire, burning along the southeastern base of the Chiricahua Mountains in Arizona, began on May 8, 2011, around 11 a.m.
The fire is believed to have been caused by human error. The photograph, taken on May 15, 2011 and covering almost 8,900 hectares, shows the location of the fire in the mountains, as well as long plumes of smoke that stretch to the northeast for at least 60 km. On May 19, 2011, about 14 thousand hectares were already engulfed in fire. Grass, bushes and trees on the mountain slopes were burning.
The Chiricahua Mountains, which include Chiricahua National Monument, straddle the borders of the U.S. states of Arizona, New Mexico, and the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The height of the mountains varies from 914 to 3267 meters above sea level. The highest peaks, known locally as “sky islands,” are home to diverse communities of plants and animals adapted to colder, wetter conditions. Lower areas have a more arid and desert climate. The image shows the contrast of these environments. The dark spot in the center is the pine and oak forest on the upper slopes and peaks of the Chiricahua Mountains. To the northwest of them lies the gently sloping, sometimes gray, sometimes yellow-brown surface of Willcox Playa (the bottom of a dry lake).
32. Earth from the ISS: Looks like an episode from Star Wars - the approach of the X-wing star fighter.
In fact, this is Kepler, NASA's astronomical satellite. Against the background of the earth's horizon, surrounded by comic darkness, the European automatic cargo ship ATV-2 (Automated Transfer Vehicle-2) Johannes Kepler begins to separate from the ISS. ATV-2 undocked from the Zvezda service module pier on June 20, 2011 at 10:46.
33. Earth from the ISS: Gulf of Cortez
Mexico, Baja California, Gulf of Cortez. Photo taken by one of the STS-135 crew members after joining the ISS. It depicts Mexico, Baja California, and the Gulf of Cortez. The picture appeared on July 12 - it was a very busy working day for the astronauts. They went into outer space.
34. Earth from the ISS: Shooting Star
Astronaut Ron Garan, an engineer on ISS Expedition 28, posted this photo on Twitter on August 14 with the following comment: “This is what a shooting star looks like from space during a meteor shower.”
The image was taken from the orbital station on August 13 over China, approximately 400 km northwest of Beijing. The meteor shower happens every year in August, so this photo was no surprise.
Meteors are particles of Comet Swift-Tuttle along its orbital path; The particles are close enough to the comet's orbit that the Earth's gravitational field sweeps them away every year. A green and dim yellow glow appears in thin stripes over the edge of the Earth, stretching from the left to the upper right corner of the photo. Atoms and molecules that lie above 50 kilometers above the earth are charged by sunlight during the day and release that energy at night, emitting light that can be seen from orbit. The sun is low on the horizon, near part of one of the station's solar panels in the upper right corner of the image.
35. Earth from the ISS: Astronaut Ron Garan
We are very grateful to Ron for his brilliant photographs, all of which can be found on Twitter at @Astro_Ron).
Cosmonauts there, as a rule, are busy with important work - scientific experiments, meteorological observations and maintenance of the station's technical systems. But sometimes they are distracted to photograph the Earth from a height of 370 kilometers. This collection of photographs contains images taken from the ISS and several Earth satellites.
1. Incipient winter storm in the ocean southwest of Australia
The photo was taken on a digital camera with a 14 mm lens on board the ISS. On the left you can see one of the station's orbital panels.
2. This part of the Green River in eastern Utah (USA) seems to be tied in a knot.
In the photograph taken from the ISS on January 22, 2014, the river appears dark because the surrounding landscape is 300 meters higher than its level. The white line crossing out the photo is the contrail from the jetliner.
3. Photo from the ISS taken on December 12, 2013
The white flash of lightning contrasts with the yellow lights of the cities of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
4. Photo taken by Landsat 8 on March 30, 2014
A volcanic island that appeared in the winter of 2013-2014, 600 kilometers south of Tokyo.
5. This panoramic image of the southwest Pacific Ocean was taken on January 28, 2014 from the ISS.
In the center of the islands, which belong to the group of French Southern and Antarctic territories and belong to France. In a photograph taken from orbit, you can see the mechanism of wave generation in the ocean: larger and higher islands generate higher waves.
6. Lake Sharp in South Dakota (USA), photograph from the ISS, taken December 26, 2013
In those places, the Missouri River makes bizarre bends, one of which can be seen in the photo. The surface of the lake is frozen and covered with snow. On a small peninsula, round fields are clearly visible. Their shape is explained by the type of irrigation - in the center there is a source of water, distributed evenly in all directions.
7. Photo of Moscow at night, ISS, January 29, 2014
8. Panorama of Cuba, ISS, December 26, 2014
9. View of the Grand Canyon from the ISS, March 25, 2014
10. View of Manhattan and Central Park in New York from the ISS, January 9, 2014
11. A fresh apple floats in zero gravity near the ISS window
12. Manicouagan Reservoir in Quebec (Canada), ISS, January 2, 2014
Scientists suggest that the crater in the center of the image was formed 215.5 million years ago after an asteroid with a diameter of 5 kilometers crashed into the Earth.
13. Darkness in North Korea
This image was taken from the ISS on January 30, 2014. The illuminated China and South Korea are clearly visible. The practical dark space between them is North Korean territory. The brightest point is Pyongyang, the capital of the country. In terms of lighting, it resembles small South Korean cities. Annual per capita electricity consumption is 739 kilowatt-hours in North Korea and 10,162 kilowatt-hours in South Korea.
14. Image of the Almaty region of Kazakhstan from the Landsat 8 satellite, September 9, 2013
This is a rare landform - an alluvial fan. The Tente River flows through the foothills of the Dzhungar Alatau. As the topography and profile of the river changes, geological sediments are formed, which can be seen in this photograph.
15. Ultra-small Earth satellites CubeSat, photograph from the ISS, February 25, 2014
16. Islands of the Four Mountains, part of the Aleutian Islands chain (near Alaska), November 15, 2013
The southeastern slopes of the islands are illuminated by sunlight. These islands are nothing more than the tops of volcanoes that rose from the seabed.
17. The Moon, partially in the shadow of the Earth, February 21, 2014, ISS
18. Deserts in central Iran, February 14, 2014, ISS
There is a dark lake in the center of the photo. There are no landmarks in the photo that could give an idea of its size. There are 65 kilometers between the left and right edges of the image.
19. Mountain range in central Namibia, May 15, 2014
20. Fog and clouds over Malaysia, March 13, 2014, ISS
21. Launch of the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
22. March 27, 2014, Soyuz spacecraft before docking with the International Space Station
23. Karst mountains in the Chinese province of Guangxi, October 8, 2013, Landasat 8 satellite image
24. Bazman volcano in Iran, part of the reserve in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan, January 5, 2014, ISS
The volcano has a classic cone shape, but on its slopes there are relatively symmetrical channels that ensure uniform water flow.
25. Ice field in Southern Patagonia (Argentina), February 13, 2014, ISS.
Its area is 13 thousand square kilometers
26. The Soyuz spacecraft carries away three cosmonauts from the ISS, who worked there for about six months
27. District of the city of Zhezkazgan (Kazakhstan), May 14, 2014, photograph from the ISS
28. The Soyuz spacecraft from the previous photo landed successfully.
Astronauts leave the spacecraft capsule on Earth.
This spring, the Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft, launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, successfully docked to the ISS and thereby launched the 36th space expedition. During the expedition (166 days), the ISS orbited the planet 2500 times! Inside you will see footage from on board the ISS, photographs from space and, of course, the descent.
At a traditional press conference, Baikonur, May 27, 2013. Russian cosmonaut Fedor Yurchikhin (center), NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg (right) and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano went into orbit. Fedor Yurchikhin is the most experienced member of the team; this flight was already his fourth.
Flight engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA watches Soyuz TMA-09M arrive at the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad by train.
A funny tradition - the consecration of a spaceship at the Baikonur launch pad, May 27, 2013.
Let's go! The launch of the Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, May 29, 2013. The launch took place from site No. 1, or “Gagarin launch”. The docking of the Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft with the ISS took place on May 29 at 06:16 Moscow time in fully automatic mode.
Alaska. View from orbit, May 2013.
Preparing for a spacewalk. On the left is cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, putting on a spacesuit. ISS, June 21, 2013.
Italian ESA cosmonaut Luca Salvo Parmitano inside the “Dome” (Italian cupola) - a module of the International Space Station, which is a panoramic observation dome consisting of seven transparent windows. Designed to monitor the Earth's surface, outer space and people or equipment working in outer space.
The program included about 50 experiments, most of which were started in previous expeditions. Among them, for example, is the “Endurance” experiment - astronauts study the influence of outer space on the mechanical properties of materials. Astronauts also study immune responses in humans during space flight.
The Albert Einstein, a European unmanned cargo spacecraft named after physicist Albert Einstein, is approaching the ISS. On board it delivered more than 6.5 tons of cargo, including: water, oxygen, food, and experimental equipment. The docking took place on June 15, 2013.
And this, by the way, is the launch of the Albert Einstein cargo ship on June 5, 2013 using the Ariane-5ES heavy-duty launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou.
The space cargo ship Albert Einstein approaches the ISS.
Robonaut is a humanoid robot developed by NASA and General Motors. The robot is a legless humanoid figure, whose head is painted gold and its torso is white. The robonaut's hands have five fingers with joints similar to those of humans. The machine can write, grab and fold objects, and hold heavy things, for example, a dumbbell weighing 9 kg. The robot does not yet have the lower half of its body.
Japanese space truck HTV-4 "Konotori-4" approaches the International Space Station, August 9, 2013.
Fixed cameras aboard the ISS photographed the Japanese HTV-4 truck as it entered Earth's atmosphere on September 7, 2013.
Expedition 36 to the ISS ends. The photo shows the descent module with astronauts, September 11, 2013.
Russian search and rescue helicopters are flying to meet the crew.
And now the descent capsule with participants of the 36th expedition to the ISS successfully landed in Kazakhstan. Russian cosmonauts Pavel Vinogradov and Alexander Misurkin and NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy returned to Earth.
Landing of the lander in the steppe of Kazakhstan
Commander of the 36th expedition to the ISS Pavel Vinogradov after returning to Earth
Started on September 22, 2010, he shared his photographs of stunning views of our planet from space. All captions for photographs are his own.
Let's go! It was October 23, 2007 at 11:40 am, my first flight on Discovery into space. He is beautiful... very sad that this will be his last flight. September 23, 2010:
"Earthglow" ... The space station is bathed in the bluish glow of the Earth as the rays of the rising sun pierce the atmosphere and illuminate our station with blue light. I will never forget this place...November 7, 2010:
NASA astronaut Douglas Harry Wheelock:
The island of Juan di Nova is located in the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and the African continent. November 15, 2010:
Aurora borealis on this beautiful night over Europe. The Strait of Dover is clearly visible, as are the lights of Paris. Light fog over western England and London. It's incredible when you see city lights from deep space. I will miss these beautiful views of our world... November 8, 2010:
I hope we never cease to be amazed. A passion for exploration and discovery is a noble legacy we will leave to our children. I hope that one day we will set sail and set off on an adventure. And it will be a wonderful day... August 22, 2010:
Of all the places on our planet, there are few that rival the vibrant colors of the Bahamas. Here is a view of our Progress 37 cargo ship against the backdrop of the Bahamas. What a wonderful world! August 22, 2010:
Traveling at 28,000 kilometers per hour (8 kilometers per second) ... we circle the Earth every 90 minutes with sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. Thus, half of our space walk takes place in complete darkness. The light from our helmets is simply necessary while working. August 14, 2010:
Every minute I glance through the window at our beautiful planet, my soul just sings! ... "I see a blue sky... and white clouds... and a clear sunny day...". June 29, 2010:
Another spectacular sunset...we have 16 of them every day in Earth's orbit. The beautiful thin blue line is what makes our home so special from space. June 21, 2010:
A beautiful atoll in the South Pacific through a 400mm lens. About 1200 km south of Honolulu. November 15, 2010:
Beautiful reflections of sunlight on the eastern Mediterranean Sea. From space you can see no borders, no conflicts... just breathtaking beauty, like this view of the island of Cyprus on June 21, 2010:
We're over the mid-Atlantic before another gorgeous sunset. The spiral from Hurricane Graph is visible against the background of the setting sun. An interesting view of the life-giving energy of our Sun. Solar panels on the left side of the space station, like Hurricane Graph, collect the last energy before sunset. August 20, 2010:
A little further to the east, we saw the sacred and majestic rock "Uluru". You may be more familiar with its other name - Ayers Rock. I haven't had the opportunity to visit Australia, but one day I hope to stand next to this natural wonder. October 26, 2010:
The majestic Andes in South America. I'm not sure I know the name of this mountain... I was just in awe of its majesty, reaching the heights of the winds and the rising sun. October 30, 2010:
Sahara Desert - ancient sands and thousands of years of history. Visible are the Nile River flowing through Egypt, the Red Sea, the Sinai Peninsula, the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea and Greece appearing on the horizon. June 9, 2010:
Night view of the Nile River winding through the Egyptian desert towards the Mediterranean Sea. Such a stark contrast between the dark, lifeless desert of North Africa and the Nile River with the abundance of life along its banks. January 31, 2010:
Our unmanned Progress 39 cargo spacecraft before docking last Sunday. He brought us food, fuel and spare parts. The real gift was behind his hatch - several bags of fresh fruits and vegetables. Such a pleasure after 3 months of eating from plastic bags! September 15, 2010:
This weekend we said goodbye to our teammates Sasha, Misha and Tracy. They returned safely to planet Earth. Tracy is in quiet reflection from our incredible journey... The road home... September 26, 2010:
Soyuz 23 docked with the Space Station. It will take us home to planet Earth when our work is completed. We fly over the majestic and snow-capped mountains of the Caucasus. Sunrise reflected from the Caspian Sea. September 26, 2010:
An explosion of color, movement and life is painted onto the canvas of our wonderful world. It is part of the Great Barrier Reef off the east coast of Australia. August 22, 2010:
The beauty of Italy on a clear summer night. You can see many beautiful islands decorating the coasts of Capri, Sicily and Malta. The city of Naples and Mount Vesuvius line the coast. August 22, 2010:
In the south of South America lies the pearl of Patagonia. The spectacular beauty of the rocky mountains, massive glaciers, fjords...I dreamed of this place. August 28, 2010:
The Dome module of the ISS orbital station, providing panoramic views of our planet. Fedor took this photo from the Pirs docking module. This is me in the Dome, preparing the camera for filming Hurricane Graf. August 31, 2010:
Greek islands on a clear night. Athens shines brightly along the Mediterranean Sea. It's a very surreal feeling to see this magnificent ancient land from space. September 4, 2010:
The evening view of the Florida peninsula and the southeastern United States is the view I miss the most. A clear autumn night with moonlight over the water and a sky filled with billions of stars. November 2, 2010:
A clear, starry night over the eastern Mediterranean. Ancient lands with a thousand-year history stretch from Athens, Greece to Cairo, Egypt. Ancient lands, legendary cities and enchanting islands... Athens - Crete - Rhodes - Izmir - Ankara - Cyprus - Damascus - Beirut - Haifa - Amman - Tel Aviv - Jerusalem - Cairo - lighthouses in a cool November night. November 7, 2010:
Pictures of night, glowing clouds in the mesosphere. Noctilucent or polar mesospheric clouds are the highest cloud formations that form in the atmosphere. June 25, 2010:
Shannon, me and Fedor. The countdown to landing begins. Don't put out the lights, we'll be home soon...November 20, 2010:
A few more photographs of Douglas Harry Wheelock without captions.
