A look at Ireland from on board the International Space station.Terry W. Virts/Twitter
Yesterday, on St. Patrick’s Day, an astronaut on board the International Space Station managed to snap a cloudless view of Ireland from 200 miles above Earth.
The Emerald Isle really looks quite green in American astronaut Terry W. Virt’s photo, as he himself noted.
#HappyStPatrickDay with best wishes from the #E43 crew! From space you can see the “Emerald Isle” is very green! pic.twitter.com/cMdhCd0zCb
Ireland has previously been a favorite of astronauts on board the ISS, from Canadian Chris Hadfield, who built up a massive Irish following while in space, to American Cady Coleman, who brought with her two Irish flutes belonging to the Chieftains, to Douglas Wheelock, who sent a St. Patrick's Day greeting from the ISS last year.
Virts has been in outer space since November 23, 2014. Yesterday he also tweeted a St. Patrick's Day appropriate solar flare.
Nature's way of celebrating #StPatricksDay. The most amazing green I've seen, courtesy of a solar flare. pic.twitter.com/M9Mw09NVZR
— Terry W. Virts (@AstroTerry) March 17, 2015
He also tweeted an otherworldly green glow over Ireland, Scandinavia and the UK just last month.
#Ireland, UK and #Scandinavia on a moonlit night under an amazing and everchanging aurora pic.twitter.com/pFeDGlkagL