Amazing Space Pictures From Nasa

On September 22, 2010, with the departure of the Expedition 23 crew, Colonel Douglas H. Wheelock assumed command of the International Space Station and the Expedition 25 crew. He is also known as @Astro_Wheels on twitter, where he has been tweeting space photos to his followers since he arrived at the space station.

We thought that we should put some of the space photos together as a tribute to him and the whole ISS crew. The space photos bring breathtaking views from our only off planet Vista point.

The following space photos are all visible on Astro_Wheels’ twitpic account, and we are eternally grateful to him for sharing these space photos with the world. Many have commented directly to him but we want to make it clear Triggerpit does not have any affiliation with Astronaut Wheelock nor NASA. The confusion might have been since all the captions are all his own words as can also be seen on his twitpic account.

Incredible Photos from Space: ‘Earthshine’

The Space Station basking in blue Earthshine as the rising sun pierces our razor-thin atmosphere to cover the Space Station with blue light. I’ll never forget this place seeing this makes the heart soar and the soul sing (11-7-2010).

NASA astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock
(NASA). Incredible Photos from Space: NASA

Earth From Space Pics: Isle Juan de Nova

In the Mozambique Channel between Madagascar and the African mainland. The beautiful colors rival the amazing places in the Caribbea (11-15-2010).

Amazing Space Pics: Aurora Borealis

In the distance on this beautiful night over Europe. The Strait of Dover is pretty clear as is Paris, the City of Lights. A little fog over the western part of England and London. It is incredible to see the lights of the cities and small towns against the backdrop of deep space. I am going to miss this view of our wonderful world(11-8-2010).

Nasa Space Pictures: Moon from the ISS

Fly me to the Moon let me dance among the Stars ” I hope we never lose our sense of wonder. A passion for exploration and discovery is a noble legacy to leave to our children. I hope we set our sails and venture out one day. That will be one glorious day.

Outer Space Pics: Progress-37 over Bahamas

Of all the places on our glorious planet, few rival the brilliant colors of The Bahamas. Here is a view of our Progress-37 re-supply spacecraft, with the islands of The Bahamas as a backdrop. What a wonderful world (8-22-2010).

Space Images: Astronaut working on the outside of ISS

Traveling at 17,500 miles per hour (5 miles per second)…we orbit the Earth every 90 minutes, with a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. So half of our space walk is in complete darkness. The helmet lights are essential at the work sight. Here I am getting the bail drive lever ready for my arch nemesis…the ‘M3 Ammonia Connector’.

Space Photos: ISS solar panel with Earth in the background

Every moment I get to look out the window at our beautiful planet, my soul just sings ”I see skies of blue and clouds of white the bright blessed day (6-29-2010).

Pictures Of Space: Daybreak

Another breathtaking sunset we get 16 of these each day in Earth orbit, each one a treasured moment. That beautiful thin blue line is what makes our home so special in the cosmos. Space is cool but, the Earth is a raging explosion of life in a vast sea of darkness (6-21-2010).

Pictures From Space: Atoll in South Pacific

Beautiful atoll in the South Pacific through a 400mm lens. About 1200 miles south of Honolulu . In the ‘Line Islands’ along ‘Christmas Ridge’, either ‘Teraina’ or ‘Tabuaeran’? (11-15-2010).

Pictures Of Planets: Cyprus

Beautiful reflection of sunlight on the eastern Mediterranean Sea. No borders or conflict visible from space…just breath-taking beauty like this view of the island of Cyprus (6-21-2010). Incredible Photos from Space: NASA, Astronaut Wheelock

Planets In Space: Hurricane Earl

Out over the central Atlantic, just before another spectacular sunset, with the spiral bands of Hurricane Earl visible in the setting sun. An interesting view of the life-giving energy of our sun. The solar arrays on the port side of the Space Station as well as Hurricane Earl…both gathering the last bit of energy before they fall into eclipse (8-30-2010).

Space Pics From Nasa: Mountain in the Andes in South America

Morning breaking over the majestic Andes in South America . I really am not sure of the name of this mountain just was in awe of its majesty, reaching into the windswept heights and the rising sun. Another day another chance to stand tall and be counted (10-30-2010).

Space Pics Of Earth: The Nile and Egypt by day

Over the Sahara Desert approaching ancient lands and thousands of years of history. The Nile River flowing through Egypt past the pyramids of Giza up to Cairo in the delta; the Red Sea, Sinai Peninsula, Dead Sea; Jordan River; and the Sea of Galilee are visible, as are the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea and Greece coming over the horizon (9-6-2010).

Space Pics Of Planets: The Nile and Egypt by night

A night view of the Nile River winding up through the Egyptian desert toward the Mediterranean Sea, and Cairo in the river delta. Such a stark contrast between the dark desolate lifeless desert of northern Africa and the Nile River teeming with life along its shores. In the distance the eastern Mediterranean on a beautiful autumn evening (1-31-2010).

Space Pictures: Sunset

It is the season for viewing Polar Mesospheric Clouds, and with our high beta-angle we were able to capture this thin layer of noctilucent clouds at sunset (6-25-2010).

Pics Of Earth From Space: Middle East by night

A clear starry night over the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea . Ancient lands with thousands of years of history stretching from Athens, Greece all the way around the Med to Cairo, Egypt. Storied lands, fabled cities, and alluring islands, Athens – Crete – Rhodes – Izmir – Ankara – Cyprus – Damascus – Beirut – Haifa – Amman – Tel Aviv – Jerusalem – Cairo are beacons on this cool November night. Grace and Peace from the sanctity of space(11-7-2010).

Outer Space Pictures: Florida by night

The Florida peninsula and the southeastern U.S. on the kind of evening that I miss most about our planet. A clear autumn night with moonlight over the water and the sky filled with a billion stars (11-2-2010).

Photos Space: Patagonia glacier

At the southern end of South America lies the jewel of Patagonia. The awe-inspiring beauty of rugged mountains, massive glaciers, fjords, and the open sea collide in a breathtaking display. I have dreams of this place and wonder what it would be like to breathe this air. Pure majesty (8-28-2010)! Incredible Photos from Space: NASA, Astronaut Wheelock

Space Ship Pics: Soyuz 23s above the Caspian Sea

Soyuz 23S, “Olympus” docked to the nadir side of the Space Station. This will be our ride back home to planet Earth when our work is complete here. Thought I would tweet this view out of the Cupola, as we were passing over the majestic snow-capped Caucuses. The sun rising and reflecting off the Caspian Sea (9-26-2010).

Images From Nasa Space

It was October 23, 2007 at 11:40am EST when I had my first ride to space on Discovery. She’s beautiful. just sad that this will be her last voyage. Looking forward to climbing aboard the flight deck when Discovery arrives at the Space Station in November. (9-23-2010). Incredible Photos from Space: Larry Tanner, NASA. Special thanks: Bethbeck’s blog.

Source: Triggerpit

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South African Gold Miners Photography

The Price of Gold

The glowing hues of dusk bathe a mud-splattered gold miner in the border province of Manica. The area draws scores of workers from neighboring Zimbabwe who pan for traces of the precious metal in turbid waters.

Children pan for gold in a small scale mine.

Men pan for gold in a small scale mine.

A man holds a few grains of gold in the palm of his hand.

Zimbabweans risking it all for a better life

Exhausted and caked in mud, they plough wearily on, searching toxic water for traces of gold. Some look west from where they fled, across the border to Zimbabwe towards home. There, the life of miners are even harder. Here in Mozambique, at least, there are no soldiers standing over them with assault rifles.

Whole families have crossed the border to join the hunt for treasure. Zimbabwe has one of the lowest life expectancies in the world. The discovery of gold can literally save lives. But the search destroys lives too. The diggers handle toxic mercury to extract gold from the red earth. They risk suffocation at the bottom of fragile mine shafts that collapse burying occupants all too often.

A few will find enough gold to change their lives, but most will not. Many will become ill and some will pay the ultimate price in their search for gold.

10 meters below ground a man digs out earth he hopes will contain gold. Many miners have been killed when the shafts collapse.

Miners carry sacks of soil they hope will contain gold.

A miner holds a two hundred Metical bank note (about US $5) containing a few grains of gold dug from a small scale gold mine.

 

A father and child living on the site of a small scale gold mine.

A miner has his face spattered with mud from working in a small scale gold mine.

Men pan for gold in a small scale mine.

Men pan for gold in a small scale mine.

Mining in South Africa has been the main driving force behind the history and development of Africa's most advanced and richest economy. Large scale and profitable mining started with the discovery of a diamond on the banks of the Orange River in 1867 by Erasmus Jacobs and the subsequent discovery and exploitation of the Kimberley pipes a few years later. Gold rushes to Pilgrim's Rest and Barberton were precursors to the biggest discovery of all, the Main Reef/Main Reef Leader on Gerhardus Oosthuizen's farm Langlaagte, Portion C, in 1886, the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the subsequent rapid development of the gold field there, the biggest of them all.

Diamond and gold production may now be well down from their peaks, though South Africa is still no. 2 in gold but South Africa remains a cornucopia of mineral riches. It is the world's largest producer of chrome, manganese, platinum, vanadium and vermiculite. It is the second largest producer of ilmenite, palladium, rutile and zirconium. It is also the world's third largest coal exporter

Men pan for gold in a small scale mine.

Panning for gold in a small scale mine.

Men pan for gold in a small scale mine.

Men dig for gold in a small scale mine.

A miner holds a globule of mercury, which is used to extract gold. Handling mercury makes the job extremely hazardous.

A community of Zimbabweans live and mine gold in the hills on the other side of the border in Mozambique.

The digging up of so much earth pollutes local rivers and kills fish in the waterways.

Source: www.robinhammond.co.uk

Photographer: Robin Hammond

Information: Wikipedia

Abu Dhabi Photo Gallery With History

About Abu Dhabi:

Abu Dhabi is the capital and the second largest city in the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western coast. The city proper had an estimated population of 896,751 in 2009.

Abu Dhabi houses important offices of the federal government, and is the seat for the United Arab Emirates Government and the home for the Abu Dhabi Emiri Family and the President of the UAE from this family. Abu Dhabi has grown to be a cosmopolitan metropolis. Its rapid development and urbanisation, coupled with the relatively high average income of its population, has transformed Abu Dhabi to a larger and advanced metropolis. Today the city is the country's center of political, industrial activities, and a major cultural, and commercial centre due to its position as the capital. Abu Dhabi alone generated 56.7% of the GDP of the United Arab Emirates in 2008.

  

Abu Dhabi is home to important financial institutions such as the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and the corporate headquarters of many companies and numerous multinational corporations. One of the world's largest producers of oil, Abu Dhabi has actively attempted to diversify its economy in recent years through investments in financial services and tourism. Abu Dhabi is the second most expensive city for expatriate employees in the region, and 50th most expensive city in the world. Fortune & CNN stated that Abu Dhabi is the richest city in the world.

History :

The city of Abu Dhabi is geographically located on the north-eastern part of the Persian Gulf in the Arabian Peninsula. It is on an island located less than 250 metres from the mainland and is joined to the mainland by the Maqta and Mussafah Bridges. A third bridge, designed by Zaha Hadid, is currently under construction. Abu Dhabi island is also connected to Saadiyat Island by a 5-lane motorway bridge. Al-Mafraq bridge connects the city to Reem Island and was completed in early 2011. Thhis is a multilayer interchange bridge and it has a total of 27 lanes which allow roughly 25 thousand automobiles to move per hour. There are three major bridges of the project, the largest has 8 lanes, four leaving Abu Dhabi city and four coming in.

Most of Abu Dhabi is located on the island itself, but it has many suburbs on the mainland for example: Khalifa City A,B and C, Al Raha Beach, Al Bahia City A,B and C, Al Shahama, Al Rahba, Between Two Bridges, Baniyas and Mussafah Residential.

Abu Dhabi has a hot arid climate. Sunny/blue skies can be expected throughout the year. The months of June through September are generally hot and humid with maximum temperatures averaging above 35 °C (95 °F). During this time, sandstorms also occur intermittently, in some cases reducing visibility down to a few meters.

The weather is cooler from November to March. This period also sees dense fog on some days. The oasis city of Al-Ain, about 150 km (93 mi) away, bordering Oman, regularly records the highest summer temperatures in the country; however, the dry desert air and cooler evenings make it a traditional retreat from the intense summer heat and year round humidity of the capital city

Architecture : 

The density of Abu Dhabi varies, with high employment density in the central area, high residential densities in central downtown and lower densities in the suburbs. In the dense areas, most of the concentration is achieved with medium- and high-rise buildings. Abu Dhabi's skyscrapers such as the notable Abu Dhabi Investment Authority Tower, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi headquarters, the Hilton Hotel Tower and the Etisalat headquarters are usually found in the financial districts of Abu Dhabi. Other notable modern buildings include the Emirates Palace with its design inspired by Arab heritage, and the www.visitabudhabi.com

The development of tall buildings has been encouraged in the Abu Dhabi Plan 2030, which will lead to the construction of many new skyscrapers over the next decade, particularly in the expansion of Abu Dhabi's central business district such as the new developments on Al Sowwah Island and Al Reem Island. Abu Dhabi already has a number of supertall skyscrapers under construction throughout the city. Some of the tallest buildings on the skyline include the 382 m (1,253.28 ft) Central Market Residential Tower, the 324 m (1,062.99 ft) The Landmark (Abu Dhabi) and the 74-storey, 310 m (1,017.06 ft) Sky Tower. Also many other skyscrapers over 150 m (492.13 ft) (500 ft) are either proposed or approved and could transform the city's skyline. As of July 2008, there were 62 high-rise buildings 23 to 150 m (75.46 to 492.13 ft) under construction, approved for construction, or proposed for construction.

Source:  

www.binscorner.com
Wikipedia