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Chris Hadfield

An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth

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Late on a July evening in 1969, when Don and I were in our car on the road between Port Carling and Bracebridge returning to the city after a cottage weekend, we listened on the radio to live coverage of the first landing on the moon. It was an unbelievable moment, in the same realm as knowing where you were when you heard about JFK’s assassination.

It’s funny to think now that at that very same moment a 9-year old boy, listening to the same broadcast, was inspired and motivated to transform his life into the reach for the stars. Chris Hadfield, from that moment, imbued everything he did in life with the intention to better himself so that he too could qualify as an astronaut. For the next 26 years he worked hard at  everything he did - school, sports, improving his skill-set - and became the best that he could be. In 1992 he was selected to be a Canadian astronaut and in November 1995 he was launched into space for the first time.

Learning, practice, learning, practice, skills upgrades, learning, practice: it all continued even after that first space flight. Finally, during 2012-2013, Chris Hadfield spent 144 days in space and became the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station. He was at the top of his game.

His book, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, serves not only as an autobiography, but as a guide on getting the most out of the life with which we are each gifted. Hadfield works hard and plays hard and rarely does a moment go by that he does not maximize. Yet he is charmingly self-effacing and it’s easy to become a fan. His use of Twitter during his ISS days to connect, educate, awe and inspire is unprecedented. I’m a huge fan. (Witness some of his tweeted pictures that I posted on this blog Jan. - Apr. 2013 )

 

An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth belongs in homes and schools everywhere. It’s an affable read, with biographical information, technical details (but not excessive, thank heavens) and photographs. I really enjoyed it and most people I know will also like it a lot. Thanks to Jacquie and Lionel who gave it to me for Christmas! xo!

The Horsehead Nebula and an Anniversary

 

This is an infrared photo taken by the Hubble Telescope of the Horsehead Nebula.

Here's more info about the Nebula and the Hubble, celebrating its 23 year of operation.





 

For more fascinating pictures of space, see Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD)

All His Tweets

Chris Hadfield's tweets can all be found here and you can hide replies and retweets by ticking the appropriate box. Hadfield has a long involvement with NASA, has been in space previously and joined the ISS on December 21, 2012 as part of Expedition 35. Since then has been tweeting regular photos showing our wonderful planet from an orbit  240 miles away from the earth's surface. From that elevation, the horizon is approximately 1000 miles in every direction.

Here is a typical view of the horizon. Note how thin the atmosphere is.



Good info at http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/crew/exp7/luletters/lu_letter5.html

Here are a few more of his photos from the ISS:

 



Finger Lakes, New York. Glaciers clawed them into the earth as they retreated during the last Ice Age.

 

Washington, DC, waiting for the green of Spring. Andrews Air Force Base visible at lower left.

 

 Charlottetown locked in the cold of winter, Confederation Bridge just barely visible from orbit.

This Mexican lake is an empty canvas.......

.................for anyone with PhotoShop skills. Give it a face and I'll retweet my favourites!

from Commander Hadfield:



Retweets:

m_normingtonmichael normington26 Mar

@Cmdr_Hadfield This Young Man is pushing the snow ball over the edge.

p0lln8rPaul Tuominen26 Mar

@Cmdr_Hadfield I used the free GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) for mine.

mratedMichael Soutar26 Mar

@Cmdr_Hadfield I'm sorry Chris, I'm afraid I can't do that

JO PARRY‏@JO_PARRY_TWEETS26 Mar

@Cmdr_Hadfield I saw a angel :)

More from Space

Chris Hadfield

Some of the things we build for ourselves are puzzlingly visible from space. Such as the islands of Dubai. pic.twitter.com/RvrbEFNA8X

Chris Hadfield:
The Nile and the Sinai, to Israel and beyond. One sweeping glance of human history.
pic.twitter.com/nFjMp4lj14

Our Moon

Chris Hadfield

Tonight's Finale: Our Moon, forever to be graced by the footprints of twelve brave men. pic.twitter.com/u59Tl4ggq6

Happy Pi Day from the ISS



Cmdr Chris Hadfield 11h The dry folded skin of the Sahara desert, looking like the crust of a pie. Perfect for Pi Day( 03/14)! pic.twitter.com/Lhl4hyOp6s

ISS: Is Somebody Singing?

A collaboration between Chris Hadfield at the ISS, International Space Station and Ed Robertson of the Bare Naked Ladies with the help of the Wexford Gleeks. More info here. Enjoy.

From Space

This is New York City from the Space Station. Chris Hadfield points out that Central Park is clearly visible.

Every day Commander Hadfield has been tweeting amazing photos of places around the world. It's worth joining Twitter just to see them.

Here is the Suez Canal, with ships waiting for a pilot to guide them through from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea:


And here is a similar piece of geography: Istanbul where Europe and Asia meet:


How about this photo of smoke from a large fire in Australia:


And for frequent travellers, Atlanta, Georgia, with the one of the busiest airports in the world, clearly visible from the Space Station: