How astronauts are celebrating Earth Day on and off the planet
Astronauts who have gazed at Earth from above have a unique perspective on our home planet.
On Friday, astronauts on the planet and in orbit around it have been sharing their favorite photos of Earth from space on Twitter, revealing the planet's fragile atmosphere and beauty from 220 miles up.
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British astronaut Tim Peake wished the world a happy Earth Day from his post on the International Space Station.
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Some astronauts who flew to space previously are using the holiday as a time to show off their favorite photos.
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Astronaut Scott Kelly, who recently came back to Earth after spending 340 days on the Space Station, is also celebrating Earth Day on Twitter.
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Kelly has said that viewing the planet from above changed how he sees the Earth now that he's back home, and made him more of an environmentalist.
"You also notice how the atmosphere looks and how fragile it looks," Kelly said in a press conference after he returned to Earth. "It makes you more of an environmentalist after spending so much time looking down at our planet."
Kelly's twin brother and fellow former astronaut Mark Kelly also appears to have warm and fuzzy feelings about our home planet.
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And plenty of other astronauts wanted to share their love of Earth to celebrate the day.
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Miriam Kramer worked as a staff writer for Space.com for about 2.5 years before joining Mashable to cover all things outer space. She took a ride in weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight and watched rockets launch to space from places around the United States. Miriam received her Master's degree in science, health and environmental reporting from New York University in 2012, and she originally hails from Knoxville, Tennessee. Follow Miriam on Twitter at @mirikramer.
