A NASA astronaut has taken to Twitter to share a breathtaking photo of Ireland’s capital city, taken from the International Space Station (ISS).
A city full of life and renowned for its buzzing nightlife, Dublin lights up as the sun goes down. Now, we can see it from above as a stunning photo of Dublin at night released by NASA.
Texas-born astronaut Robert Shane Kimbrough posted the photo to Twitter last night showing Ireland’s capital in all its glittering glory.
See Dublin like you never have before, from the perspective of an astronaut in space.
Dublin from above – a new perspective
Sharing the birds-eye view photo of Dublin at night, NASA astronaut Kimbrough stunned social media users with the stunning shot.
He captioned the image, “One of my favourite cities – Dublin, Ireland! Look forward to seeing all of my friends there next year. Slàinte!”
Sprawling out from the centre illuminated in light, we can see the city stretching out to the Irish Sea and inwards towards Ireland’s Midlands.
Life in space – the world of a NASA astronaut
Kimbrough has been stationed at the International Space Station (ISS) for the past six months. And when he’s not online sharing stunning photos of Dublin at night, the NASA astronaut is hard at work.
Part of the crew of Expedition 65, which began in April and is due to reach completion this month, Kimbrough’s experience has been what you could call ‘out of this world’.
Selected by NASA in 2004, Kimbrough took his first spaceflight in 2008. He spent 16 days on this mission and completed two spacewalks. Since then, he has logged an incredible 189 days in space.
Sharing photos from space – for us on the ground to enjoy
The US Army Colonel and NASA Astronaut has shared plenty of the world from outer space. But we must admit we’re a little biased when we say the photo of Dublin at night, shared by the NASA astronaut, is our favourite.
Travelling over his hometown of Texas, Kimbrough has shared several photos of the area. Other posts show shots of thunderstorms over Australia, the aurora at sunrise, and incredible canyons over the Grand Canyon.
While most of us are planning our next road trip, Kimbrough is wondering where he might next see from space.
A dream job for many; we’re just glad that the NASA astronaut shares some of his incredible pictures with us on the ground.
The International Space Station – an ongoing project
The ISS is one of the most successful and famous space projects to date. The result of a collaborative effort between NASA (US), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada).
First launched in 1998, the station has been manned since its construction. Today, it orbits the earth, acting as a research laboratory and observatory.
Regularly visible to the naked eye from the earth, make sure to wave the next time you notice it passing overhead. You never know; Kimbrough might catch it on camera!
