He is known as an astronaut and for five months was the commander of the crew aboard the International Space Station.
Canadian Chris Hadfield has just published a book of amazing photos taken from space. It’s called “You Are Here:Around the world in 92 minutes
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During his time commanding the space station, in the few brief spare moments, Hadfield would take photos of the world spinning beneath him.
In fact he took thousands of photos, tens of thousands. He has since spent time selecting about 200 of them to place into this new book.
They are surprising, intriguing, beautiful, and simply amazing.
Hadfield has also added some personal comments, and some context to the photos.
For example he wondered why someone would build a bridge to a brain-like blob of rock in Iran.
By studying earlier much older photos he realized it had once been Shahi Island, surrounded by Lake Urmia.
It had been a massive salt lake, and a retreat for flamingoes, other migratory birds and tourists. New dams blocked off water supply, wells drained ground water, and climate change accelerated evaporation so that the island is now a peninsula and the birds and tourists are gone.
There are humouros aspects as well as he shows geographic shapes on earth the resemble amoeba, worms, dinosaurs, teeth and so on.
Profits from the book sales will go to charities in those countries.
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