Reid Weissman (@astro_reid) is an astronaut currently aboard the International Space Station with a penchant for documenting his voyage on Twitter. Weissman has recently made history by posting the first Vine ever taken in space — a compressed clip of one full orbit around the earth. In the Vine, the sun never sets, instead, it draws a circle as the day progresses. NBC explains the phenomenon:
The terminator line separates light from dark for an observer with his or her feet on solid ground. But from time to time the ISS lines up directly with the line during the space station’s 92-minute lap around Earth, creating the surreal effect seen in Wiseman’s video.
Social media use in space isn’t new; “space selfies” already have their own wikipedia article. Yet, the ability to capture scenes from space on social media is lending us a new intimacy with the astronauts on the ISS, and a rare glimpse into their lives out there.
Egyptian desert meets the Red Sea on a cloudless afternoon. pic.twitter.com/N5HOlCJ9E0
— Reid Wiseman (@astro_reid) June 8, 2014
Check out Reid Weissman’s feed for more of his interstellar twitpics.
