Science

Australia Looks Like Abstract Art in These Stunning Photos From the International Space Station

Astronaut Scott Kelly's photos will change how you think about the land down under.

Scott Kelly / NASA

Shortly before astronaut Scott Kelly left Earth for a one-year mission as commander of the International Space Station, President Barack Obama advised him to Instagram it. Kelly took that advice to heart, and regularly shares stunning visuals from the ISS. His latest series of images of Australia’s topography approaches art.

In a series of tweets, Kelly has posted images of a single pass over the continent taken from the unique vantage of 400km. The images, stunning and abstract, carry a the fitting hashtag #EarthArt.

Kelly took these images while serving as commander of the International Space Station on a one-year mission.

Scott Kelly / NASA

Kelly acknowledged the abstract art style of the images with the hashtag #EarthArt

Scott Kelly / NASA

Kelly's pictures show a single pass over the Australian continent.

Scott Kelly / NASA

The pictures were taken from the cupola, a  dome on the space station with a panoramic view of the planet.

Scott Kelly / NASA

Kelly took the pictures using the station’s cupola, a seven-windowed dome that offers a panoramic view of our planet. Since he began posting them on Monday, they’ve already been retweeted thousands of times.

Seven months into his mission, Kelly’s feed has curated some of the most interesting pictures of Earth ever in one place, with regular shots of our planet’s topography.

Shortly before Kelly was sent into space, Obama told him to Instagram his trip. 

Scott Kelly / NASA

Kelly's stunning images have earned him a Twitter following half-a-million strong.

Scott Kelly / NASA

Kelly's images have been shared thousands of times in the last 24 hours.

Scott Kelly / NASA

While the exact location of Kelly’s Australian shots can be hard to pin down, The Guardian reports that most of the color-enhanced images are of the country’s arid center.

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Kelly's unique vantage point is 400km above the ground.

Scott Kelly / NASA

An American has never been in space as long as Kelly will be on his mission.

Scott Kelly / NASA

Kelly's year-long mission began in March 2015.

Scott Kelly / NASA
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