A NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station shared stunning images of a few major cities as the ship traveled across US east coast.
Jessica Meir posted photos on Twitter and Instagram of Boston, New York City and Philadelphia as she and the rest of the crew passed over them more than 250 miles above Earth.
Center City in Philadelphia is visible in the image, the lights shine bright around Central Park in the Big Apple and street lamps illuminate the roads of Boston.
The city of Boston (pictured), which is in Massachusetts, extends more than 89 miles and is home to more than 685,000 people. The image snapped aboard the International Space Station (ISS) shows the intricate lining of the harbor and details of the streets within the city that also spread out to surrounding areas
Meir shared the images over the past week to her social media accounts, with Boston as her first visit along the east coast.
‘Last week by day, and this week by night, either way #Boston beholds quite a sight. Goodnight Boston,’ she shared in the Instagram post.
The city of Boston, which is in Massachusetts, extends more than 89 miles and is home to more than 685,000 people.
The image snapped aboard the International Space Station (ISS) shows the intricate lining of the harbor and details of the streets within the city that also spread out to surrounding areas.
Next stop on the tour was New York City, which Meir shared two days after passing over Boston.
‘Bright lights, big city – Times Square is a spotlight, even from space,’ reads the post.
The picture highlights the details of the city streets and bright lights coming from Times Square, along the outline of Central Park, which is visible because of the surrounding lights.
Across the Hudson River is also lit up, letting viewers take a peek at Hoboken and Jersey City in New Jersey.
Meir also share images of the Big Apple on Twitter that she snapped during the day.
The pictures reveal the skyscrapers that fill the New York skyline, but appear to be tiny formations sprouting from the ground.
And Meir passed over the city of brotherly love just late last week.
‘Cheesesteaks, the Liberty Bell, and brotherly love – what’s not to like about glittering #Philly’, she shared in the post.
The image shows the bright spot of Temple University’s campus in North Philadelphia, which is not far from the glittering lights in Center City.
The Benjamin Franklin Bridge, which is 9,573 feet long and 128 feet wide, looks like a mere speck in the image.
Meir launched into space for the ISS on September 25, 2019 where she met here college and best friend, Christina Koch, aboard the ship.
The pair made headlines in October for completing the first all-female spacewalk in October.
On Friday, October 18th, Koch and Meir ventured outside of the International Space Station (ISS) at 07:38am ET (12:38pm BST).
The pair moved to the space station’s P6 truss at the far end to begin work, where they replaced a failed power controller.
NASA live-streamed spacewalk, as it was a landmark moment for female astronauts and scientists.
This failure has not significantly impacted the crew or its mission but needs to be repaired nonetheless.
According to NASA, BCDUs regulate the charge for batteries that draw energy from the station’s solar collectors to provide power as the station orbits at night.
Meir is expected to return to Earth sometime in the Spring of next year when her tour as part of Expedition 61 and 62 comes to an end.
Due to holding dual American and Swedish citizenship she is the first Swedish woman to go into space.
The International Space Station orbits about 250 miles above the Earth and will orbit the planet about 16 times per day.
The ISS was launched on 20 November 1998 and features a number of different modules built by the various nations involved in the project.
It has two main segments – the Russian Orbital Segment and the United States Orbital Segment and is expected to operate until 2030.