Astronaut Shoots Spacewalk Selfies with a Nikon D5

enero 29, 2020

Astronaut Shoots Spacewalk Selfies with a Nikon D5

This past weekend, NASA astronaut and physiologist Jessica Meir one-upped everybody else’s #SelfieSunday posts when she uploaded two spacewalk selfies taken outside the International Space Station (ISS) with a special Nikon D5.

Meir’s #SundaySelfie was posted on Twitter, where she’s been uploading some spectacular imagery ever since she got up to the ISS in September of 2019. But while all of her photos have received plenty of love on the social media platform, this Sunday’s spacewalk selfies seem to have gone viral:

Fine, visor up this time – but at least the magnificent Earth still makes an appearance too. All #spacewalk #selfies (and other photos) made possible with a Nikon D5 with a 28 mm lens in a protective housing (visible in center of 2nd photo). #SelfieSunday pic.twitter.com/AlmUjvCWDj

— Jessica Meir (@Astro_Jessica) January 26, 2020

“Fine, visor up this time – but at least the magnificent Earth still makes an appearance too,” reads the Tweet. “All #spacewalk #selfies (and other photos) made possible with a Nikon D5 with a 28 mm lens in a protective housing (visible in center of 2nd photo).”

The responses to the post—over 230 replies and counting—are duly awed by the images, with various commenters calling it “the selfie of the millennium” and “selfie of the year” and, of course, “the best selfie ever.”

Here’s a close look at both photos—one traditional selfie, one “mirror” selfie using the solar panels on the ISS—which are probably a better #shotonNikon ad than any #shotoniPhone campaign Apple has ever come up with:

If you want to learn more about the photography equipment on the International Space Station, or what it’s actually like taking photos from up there, check out this article for a behind the scenes look. And if you aren’t already, definitely give Meir a follow on Twitter, where she continues to post some (literally) out of this world images.

Image credits: Photos by Jessica Meir/NASA.