Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield became a celebrity during his time on the International Space Station (ISS). Not only did he entertain us with some awesome music from zero gravity, but he also took some beautiful photos from space of our home planet.
However, taking photos of Earth from space is no small feat, especially considering the lack of gravity for getting steady shots and the fact that the ISS is traveling around the planet at about five miles per second.
So how did Hadfield take such beautiful photos? In this new video for At-Bristol Science Center, Hadfield shows us how. He even demonstrates with a camera, a globe and a velvet cloth set to operate as the Milky Way background.
Hadfield also discusses how each shot was carefully planned ahead and how he had to focus the camera well before a shot lined up just right. He also talks about hanging by his feet for stability in aiming the camera out of the ISS windows.
Hadfield, who became a household name after his cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" went viral on YouTube, became the first Canadian to command a space mission in 2013 during a five-month stay on the ISS.
After Hadfield returned to Earth, he wrote the novel An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination and Being Prepared for Anything. The novel, which takes readers through an astronaut's adventures in space and on Earth, is currently being adapted into an ABC sitcom pilot with Hadfield as the consulting producer for the show.
This year, Hadfield released his second book, You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes, where he relives his time on the ISS. The book also features some of his extraordinary photography from his time on the station.
"All of the importance [of spaceflight] is in how it affects the people and what it means to us, as an individual or as an industry or as a people," says Hadfield. "So, it is really about how you bring it back and make the experience as relevant that matters at all."
[Photo Credit: At-Bristol Science Center/YouTube]
