Kimya Yui’s photographs are out of this world, in more ways than one!
Previously a test pilot for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, Kimiya Yui was selected to be an astronaut for JAXA in 2009 and has been aboard the International Space Station since July this year. Over the last few months, the Japanese astronaut has been documenting his time in space by tweeting gorgeous photos of Earth, its sunrises, and the lights of cities as night.
We may not be able to fly through space with Kimiya, but at least we can share his view through the magic of the Internet!
The photo above is a view of the sunset from space — a sentence almost as awesome as the picture itself. Kimiya notes that he’s had numerous views in space that were so beautiful as to leave him speechless, a feeling we can perfectly understand having seen these photos.
Here’s a tweet where the astronaut asks the difficult question about which view we like better. We can’t pick, Kimiya! We just can’t!
This photo is of a low pressure area over the Sea of Japan taken at the end of November, as a sliver of light, called zodiacal light, glows on the horizon.
It looks like even astronauts take time off for Thanksgiving! Kimiya wrote that he had the day off for the holiday, so he decided to share these photos as an expression of gratitude. They’re almost better than a stuffed turkey.
The photo tweeted above is of the lights of Moscow seen through clouds. It’s definitely one of the most enchanting photos we’ve seen!
In the photo above, you can see lights from the Strait of Gibraltar along with the lights of people living in the desert, all bathed in moonlight. And in the sky, on the left side of the photo, Altair is visible, as is Vega, in the center near the ISS’s radiator.
We love all the colors Kimiya captured in this photo — particularly the deep, dark blue.
Finally, here’s a photo of the moon, lit slightly by light reflecting off Earth. According to Kimiya, this view of the moon can even been seen from Earth’s surface, so be sure to give it a good look next chance you get!
Kimiya is slated to return to earth next week on December 11, a bit earlier than originally planned. We’re not sure how an astronaut feels about coming home, but we certainly want to wish him a happy landing!
Sources: Hamusoku, Twitter/@Astro_Kimiya
Featured image: Twitter/@Astro_Kimiya