Since blasting off for the International Space Station (ISS) on 15 December, Major Tim Peake has kept the world informed of what he has been doing there though his Twitter feed.
The British astronaut has shown snapshots of life on the ISS, and his recent spacewalk to make repairs to the exterior of the ISS. However, his photos of the earth, including a recent photo of Britain and Continental Europe, with Jersey at its centre, are attracting the most admiration.
Posted with a caption saying: “Hey, I recognise that place!’ the photo shows the French and English coastlines, picked out with lights, while major conurbations, such as London and Paris and Brussels, appear like molten balls.
Despite many of the rural parts of Jersey not having streetlights, the island is clearly visible, along with a slightly less-well lit Guernsey to the left. Of course, Sark, a dark skies island, is nowhere to be seen.
On his Twitter feed, Major Peake wrote: “Looking to the East along the Channel with UK on the left and France on the right. The streetlights from the densely populated London, Paris and Brussels glow brightly in the centre of the picture.”
Major Peake is Britain’s first official astronaut. The Sandhurst graduate and former helicopter pilot was selected from over 8,000 candidates from across Europe for the European Space Agency programme. After six years of training, Major Peak began his six-month mission, travelling to space with the Russians on their Soyuz spacecraft.