Soichi Noguchi has emerged as the resident photographer of the International Space Station’s current Expedition 64 crew.
The 55-year-old Japanese astronaut reached the orbiting outpost last month, together with three American astronauts, aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule on its first operational flight.
Since arriving, Noguchi has been tweeting some amazing photos as the ISS orbits the planet every 90 minutes or so, from around 250 miles up. The images were likely taken from the space station’s seven-window Cupola observatory, which offers incredible views of Earth, the moon, and beyond.
So let’s take a look at some of the best ones to date …
This remarkable image shows Houston, Texas, as well as Trinity Bay and Galveston Bay, and Beaumont off to the east.
Howdy, #Houstonian! #houstontx
宇宙飛行士のホームタウン、#ヒューストン です。意外に緑が多い？ pic.twitter.com/hkhXW9JXPG— NOGUCHI, Soichi 野口 聡一（公式） (@Astro_Soichi) December 10, 2020
An enviable view of Spain’s Balearic Islands …
#Ibiza #Spain's Balearic Islands in the #Mediterranean Sea. pic.twitter.com/ZwXzKFtzY0
— NOGUCHI, Soichi 野口 聡一（公式） (@Astro_Soichi) December 14, 2020
Noguchi describes this eye-catching image of Mauritania in Africa as “almost like an oil painting.”
Almost like an oil painting… #Africa is beautiful. #Mauritania and #WesternSahara pic.twitter.com/JpD6dtPacV
— NOGUCHI, Soichi 野口 聡一（公式） (@Astro_Soichi) December 13, 2020
A striking photo of Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri (not Illinois, Soichi!) …
I found #Dragon! Lake Ozarks in #Illinois , near hometown of @Astro_illini
ドラゴン発見⁉️イリノイ州のオザークス湖です。今聞いたら、ホプキンス船長の生まれ故郷の近くらしい。 pic.twitter.com/wbfUY4kLC4— NOGUCHI, Soichi 野口 聡一（公式） (@Astro_Soichi) December 5, 2020
With its quirky man-made islands in the Persian Gulf, here’s no mistaking Dubai from 250 miles up …
Palms, and the World. #Dubai
Happy belated anniversary #UAENationalDay
宇宙飛行士みんな大好き、ドバイの人工島群 pic.twitter.com/wNabENmWf4— NOGUCHI, Soichi 野口 聡一（公式） (@Astro_Soichi) December 8, 2020
If you follow an imaginary diagonal line from the top right corner of this photo, you’ll see a bright white dot about a quarter of the way down. It’s the Sydney Opera House …
Sydney, #Australia. Yes, I can see the famous opera
house! pic.twitter.com/6sD5CXZ5d7— NOGUCHI, Soichi 野口 聡一（公式） (@Astro_Soichi) December 9, 2020
Noguchi’s fabulous night shot of his home country’s capital city …
Good night, #TOKYO! pic.twitter.com/laSbi0FbSW
— NOGUCHI, Soichi 野口 聡一（公式） (@Astro_Soichi) December 6, 2020
Here we see the Texas location of SpaceX’s recent test flight of its prototype Starship rocket, which ended in a spectacular fireball.
Boca Chica, #TX. Probably the closest place to #moon and beyond. Go, #SpaceX !!! pic.twitter.com/jgyeuqYJCG
— NOGUCHI, Soichi 野口 聡一（公式） (@Astro_Soichi) December 10, 2020
An awesome view of Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia …
#Riyadh, #SaudiArabia magical city in the middle of beautiful desert. pic.twitter.com/S0jHVVWuWM
— NOGUCHI, Soichi 野口 聡一（公式） (@Astro_Soichi) December 6, 2020
“Beautiful Hawaii islands,” tweets Noguchi.
Beautiful #Hawaii islands. #ハワイ pic.twitter.com/dh1U0PsSk5
— NOGUCHI, Soichi 野口 聡一（公式） (@Astro_Soichi) December 5, 2020
The Japanese astronaut points out the place where the Crew Dragon, which transported him and his fellow crew members to the ISS last month, was built.
#LosAngeles – our #resilience spacecraft was built here. pic.twitter.com/OssLoOtJBp
— NOGUCHI, Soichi 野口 聡一（公式） (@Astro_Soichi) December 5, 2020
Turning his gaze away from Earth for a moment, Noguchi captured this beautiful image of the moon, a place set to welcome the first woman and next man before the end of this decade.
#Moonrise pic.twitter.com/sz1TZa4Gew
— NOGUCHI, Soichi 野口 聡一（公式） (@Astro_Soichi) November 30, 2020
