Incredible photos from space of astronaut Douglas Wheelock

"Post from the past": On September 22, after the Expedition 23 crew was sent into space, Colonel Douglas H. Wheelock assumed command of the International Space Station and the Expedition 25 crew. He can be found under the nickname @Astro_Wheels on Twitter, where the astronaut posts photos taken from the space station. We bring to your attention incredible, breathtaking photos of our planet from an unusual point of view. Comments provided by Douglas.

Go ahead, "Discovery"! On October 23, 2007, at 11:40, I went into space for the first time on the Discovery shuttle. He's beautiful... it's a pity that this is his last flight. I'm looking forward to boarding the ship and it will arrive at the station in November.

Earthly radiance. The space station is in the blue earth radiance, which appears when the rising sun penetrates the thin atmosphere of our planet, and the station is flooded with blue light. I will never forget this place ... from this kind of soul sings, and the heart wants to fly.

NASA astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock.

Juan de Nova Island in the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and Africa. The amazing color scheme of these places can compete with the views of the Caribbean Sea.

The Northern Lights in the distance on one of the beautiful nights over Europe. The photo clearly shows the Strait of Dover, however, as well as Paris, the city of lights. A little fog over the western part of England, in particular, over London. How incredible it is to see the lights of cities and towns against the background of deep space. I'm going to miss this view of our amazing world.

“Fly me to the Moon...let me dance among the Stars...” (Take me to the moon, let's dance among the stars). I hope we will never lose the sense of wonder. The passion for research and discovery is a great legacy that you can leave to your children. I hope someday we will spread our sails and go on a journey. Someday this wonderful day will come …

At a speed of 28163 km/h (8 km per second)... we orbit the Earth, making one revolution every 90 minutes, and watching sunsets and sunrises every 45 minutes. So half of our journey takes place in pitch darkness. We just need helmet lights to work. In this photo I am preparing the handle of one device... "M3 Ammonium Connector".

Every time I look out the window and see our beautiful planet, my soul sings! I see blue skies, white clouds and a bright blessed day.

Another spectacular sunset. In Earth's orbit, we see 16 such sunsets every day, and each of them is truly valuable. This beautiful thin blue line is what sets our planet apart from many others. It's cold in space, and the Earth is an island of life in the vast dark sea of space.

A beautiful atoll in the Pacific Ocean, photographed with a 400-millimeter lens. Approximately 1930 km south of Honolulu.

Beautiful reflection of sunlight in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. There are no boundaries visible from space… From there, only a breathtaking view opens up, like, for example, the view of this island of Cyprus.

Over the center of the Atlantic Ocean, before another amazing sunset. Below, the spirals of Hurricane Earl are visible in the rays of the setting sun. An interesting look at the vital energy of our sun. The sun's rays on the left side of the station and on Hurricane Earl... these two objects collect the last particles of energy before plunging into darkness.

A little further to the east we saw the sacred monolith of Uluru, better known as Ayers Rock. I've never had the opportunity to visit Australia, but someday I hope I'll be standing next to this natural wonder.

Morning over the Andes in South America. I do not know for sure the name of this peak, but I was just amazed by its magic, reaching for the sun and the winds of the peaks.

Over the Sahara Desert, approaching ancient lands and a thousand-year history. The Nile River flows through Egypt past the Pyramids of Giza in Cairo. Next, the Red Sea, the Sinai Peninsula, the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, as well as the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea and Greece on the horizon.

Night view of the Nile River, stretching like a snake through Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, and Cairo, located in the delta of the river. What a contrast between the dark, lifeless desert of North Africa and the Nile River, on the banks of which life is boiling. In the distance, in this picture taken on a beautiful autumn evening, you can see the Mediterranean Sea.

Our unmanned Progress 39P is approaching the ISS for refueling. It is full of food, fuel, spare parts and everything necessary for our station. Inside there was a real gift – fresh fruits and vegetables. What a miracle after three months of tube feeding!

I wanted to share with you this view from the Dome. We said goodbye to our band members Sasha, Misha and Tracy this weekend, and they returned safely back to Earth. In this photo, Tracy is quietly dreaming of returning home.

The Soyuz 23C Olympus module is docked with the ISS nadir side. When our work is done here, we will return home to Earth. I thought it would be interesting for you to see this spectacle through the Dome. We fly over the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus. The rising sun is reflected from the Caspian Sea.

A 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, captured through a 1200 mm lens. I think even the great Impressionists would be amazed by this natural painting.

All the beauty of Italy on a clear summer evening. You can see many beautiful islands adorning the coast - Capri, Sicily and Malta. Naples and Mount Vesuvius stand out along the coast.

At the southern end of South America lies the pearl of Patagonia. The amazing beauty of the rocky mountains, massive glaciers, fjords and the open sea combine in amazing harmony. I dreamed about this place. I wonder what it's like to breathe in the air there. Real magic!

The "dome" on the nadir side of the station gives a panoramic view of our beautiful planet. Fedor took this picture from the window of the Russian docking bay. In this photo, I'm sitting in the dome, preparing my camera for our evening flight over Hurricane Earl.

Greek islands on a clear night during our flight over Europe. Athens shines brightly along the Mediterranean Sea. An unreal feeling arises when you see all the beauty of the ancient earth from space.

Florida and the southeastern part of the USA in the evening. A clear autumn evening, moonlight over the water and a sky strewn with millions of stars.

Clear starry night over the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. Ancient lands with a thousand-year history stretch from Athens to Cairo. Historical lands, fabulous cities and tempting islands... Athens – Crete – Rhodes – Izmir – Ankara – Cyprus – Damascus – Beirut – Haifa–Amman– Tel Aviv– Jerusalem– Cairo – they all turned into tiny lights on this cool November night. These places seem to breathe grace and tranquility.

At this time of year, you can fully enjoy the beauty of the polar mesospheric clouds. With our high light angle, we were able to capture a thin layer of silvery clouds at sunset.

Shannon, me and Fedor in our Falcon suits in the MRM-1 module. We boarded the Olympus capsule to seal and check for leaks on our suits. All systems are running, the countdown has started.