Twitter Map Proves Astronauts Really Take The Best Pictures Of Earth

New Map Proves Astronauts Really Are Tweeting The Best Pictures Of Earth

It was a historic day when astronauts met Twitter in 2009.

Those aboard the International Space Station have been using the social media platform to share magnificent photos of Earth ever since. And now -- thanks to Dave MacLean, a faculty member at the Centre of Geographic Sciences (COGS) in Nova Scotia, Canada -- there's an easy way to follow the astronauts-cum-photographers.

Using Twitter's geographic data, MacLean has developed a map to organize more than 650 photos taken from the ISS. The map pinpoints where the photos were taken over Earth, making it easy to see what your favorite landmarks look like from space. MacLean's map also shows the current position of the space station, give or take a minute or so:

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The project is a collaboration of NASA, COGS, and the Environmental Systems Research Institute's geographic information systems mapping software. It features photos from the Twitter feeds of Alex Gerst, Reid Wiseman, Макс Сураев and Oleg Artemyev as they float around the world at 17,150 miles per hour.

What's the view like from that far away? Check out these photos of North America and the Pacific below:

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