As we terra firma-bound people send more and more astronauts up into orbit, they continue to send back more and more glorious images of Earth. European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas PesquetOpens in a new tab is the latest cosmic explorer to delight our eyeballs with his photos. And his unique glimpse at our “blue marble” is all kinds of wondrous.
ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
Peta PixelOpens in a new tab picked up on Pesquet’s pictures, which the astronaut recently posted to his TwitterOpens in a new tab and Flickr accountsOpens in a new tab. “[T]here’s just no land in sight, even from our 400 km crow’s nest,” the astronaut wrote in a caption alongside the photos.
The “crow’s nest” Pesquet refers to is in all likelihood the International Space Station’s Cupola Observation ModuleOpens in a new tab. The Cupola Module—which the ESA and NASA built in unison—is a small domelike structure with a series of seven windows that buds from one of the station’s arms.
🌎 Our blue marble. Sometimes, there's just no land in sight, even from our 400 km crow's nest. I think of all the sailors and explorers who traveled the world on solitary expeditions ⛵️ #MissionAlphaOpens in a new tab pic.twitter.com/sQ0F33DEZmOpens in a new tab
— Thomas Pesquet (@Thom_astro) May 26, 2021Opens in a new tab
As for the pictures themselves, they’re breathtaking. The high-resolution images do indeed capture Earth at its…bluest, and the ones above offer a stark contrast between the blackness of space and the glowing EarthOpens in a new tab. The kind of contrast that gives a true sense of our planet soaring through an infinite vacuum.
Pesquet also posted a picture of a portion of the space station’s solar panel arrayOpens in a new tab (below). That image, while perhaps not as majestic as the others, almost feels like a painting; with its faded pink- and blue-pastel color sky forming a kind of dreamy gauze over the ocean.
ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet
Anyone now looking for a lot more majestic space photos should keep up with Pesquet’s Twitter account. Approximately 1.1 million other people think he’s quite a photographer—and person in general—which is a good endorsement. There are also all of those other astronauts we sent up to the ISSOpens in a new tab as well. Thankfully, those space explorers are also enamored with our great big, blue marble.
Feature image: ESA/NASA–T. PesquetOpens in a new tab
