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60 of Chris Hadfield's photos from orbit: 'So much of the world's beauty is simply art itself'

'Let's use Twitter to communicate like never before,' astronaut Chris Hadfield tweeted on New Year's Eve. 'See the year and the world through each others' eyes.' In recent days, Hadfield has been sending photographs from orbit out to the Twitterverse:

Storified by Maclean's Magazine· Sat, Jan 05 2013 13:45:02

Quebec City - La Ville de Quebec, le 31 Dec 12 a midi, de la station spatial internationale. http://pic.twitter.com/uvqvB1TuChris Hadfield

Tadoussac, Quebec - a great place for whale watching. Photo taken at Noon on 31 Dec 12. http://pic.twitter.com/mFJESAXIChris Hadfield

Kitchener-Waterloo in the snow, taken from the Space Station on the last day of 2012. http://pic.twitter.com/GDwTtV7wChris Hadfield

Cambridge Ontario in the snow, on the last day of 2012. http://pic.twitter.com/cbDyUdAUChris Hadfield

PEI on the last day of 2012, as seen from a window of the Space Station. (11:00 AM, 31 Dec) http://pic.twitter.com/KR2is7v0Chris Hadfield

The Alps are beautiful, even from orbit. Taken on the last day of 2012 from the International Space Station. http://pic.twitter.com/6aN205HXChris Hadfield

Like a pointed toe into icy water - Long Point, Lake Winnipeg, from orbit. (30 Dec 12) http://pic.twitter.com/m1zZbIBIChris Hadfield

The Space Station followed this valley across the Prairie - 30 Dec 12. Recognize where it is? http://pic.twitter.com/BH9XvILYChris Hadfield

The Rockies are beautiful, and very much so from orbit - What an amazing view! (photo taken 30 Dec 12) http://pic.twitter.com/4Bj7Z9apChris Hadfield

Barrie, ON in snow - how it looked from ISS, today, 30 Dec at 12:40. http://pic.twitter.com/fQrfWo5PChris Hadfield

Toronto in snow - how it looked from the ISS today, 30 Dec at 12:35 local. http://pic.twitter.com/V7wtOJmMChris Hadfield

Montreal South Shore, in snow (and a trace of cloud) - how it looked today from ISS, 30 Dec at 12:40. http://pic.twitter.com/8aFH0WgOChris Hadfield

Ottawa in Snow - how it looked today from ISS - 30 Dec at 12:40 http://pic.twitter.com/Xz3xKVlFChris Hadfield

Kingston, ON in snow - how it looked from ISS today, 30 Dec at 12:40. http://pic.twitter.com/QRXeC3fMChris Hadfield

Earth, Moon and Soyuz: Kevin Ford took this picture as we approached Station last week. Science fiction into fact. http://pic.twitter.com/YnPatMbzChris Hadfield

Calgary emerging from the snow on New Year's Eve, with clouds beginning to roll in overhead. http://pic.twitter.com/Ei3cSXSmChris Hadfield

Mt. Vesuvius, Italy, on New Year's Day, 2013. Looks a little like a remainder from earth's difficult puberty years. :) http://pic.twitter.com/ccKC73uSChris Hadfield

The beauty of the Bahamas is surreal; every blue that exists. Taken on New Year's Day, 2013 from the Space Station. http://pic.twitter.com/cnNPh8XlChris Hadfield

Haifa, Israel, on 2 Jan 13. Interesting how well you can see the city planning decisions when viewing from space. http://pic.twitter.com/Bntai58NChris Hadfield

A view of the Suez Canal, as it opens into the Mediterranean. A great mix of nature and powerful human engineering. http://pic.twitter.com/asqfHKknChris Hadfield

Turkish Coast near Ceyhan, on 2 Jan. Fishing boats and piers along an interesting landscape. http://pic.twitter.com/3phhKBjpChris Hadfield

Two lakes, close but very different. Lake Hazar and Keban Reservoir, Turkey. http://pic.twitter.com/Q28d7b4CChris Hadfield

Batumi Beach on the Black Sea. Keeping up with these photos is hard work. I hope nobody minds that I've got some more! http://pic.twitter.com/HbkERrSRChris Hadfield

Poti on the Black sea - you can clearly see the fishing boats and the loads of silt washing out to sea. http://pic.twitter.com/9SN6LGqpChris Hadfield

Halifax NS, dressed in snow. Beautiful both on earth and from space - taken on the second day of 2013. http://pic.twitter.com/5wv0bbU6Chris Hadfield

St John's, NF - catching some winter sun through the cloud. Taken from the International Space Station on 2 Jan 13. http://pic.twitter.com/ijs1GjiyChris Hadfield

Boston in the snow - taken from the International Space Station, January 2, 2013 at 10:15 AM http://pic.twitter.com/kkGAEyDCChris Hadfield

Sands of the Sahara - starkly beautiful, a harshly serene and unmistakable part of the Earth's skin. Just stunning. http://pic.twitter.com/QkITUw1rChris Hadfield

Latakia, Syria - deceptively calm and beautiful, strife-torn on the shore on the sea. Peaceful from such a distance. http://pic.twitter.com/SoWWZ5BUChris Hadfield

Polka-Dot Desert - centre-point irrigation farms in Egypt. A life necessity viewed from a stellar vantage point. http://pic.twitter.com/ipypyhiAChris Hadfield

The Pyramids at Giza, Egypt - can you see them? http://pic.twitter.com/aP43h0plChris Hadfield

Los Angeles from Earth orbit, New Years Day. http://pic.twitter.com/FFXoUPBgChris Hadfield

The Golden Horseshoe snowily wrapping the end of Lake Ontario on the 2nd of January. http://pic.twitter.com/ASjP0xVpChris Hadfield

Australian Wildfires - took this photo of many smoky fires on 2 Jan 13. http://pic.twitter.com/WFE6KNnVChris Hadfield

Mojave Desert and the lake beds of Edwards AFB where I attended test Pilot School, and where the Shuttle first landed. http://pic.twitter.com/KCqt6iInChris Hadfield

Chicago, 2 January 2013. I'm trying to find the time to post some more Canadian views from above - keep posted! http://pic.twitter.com/vTjFF9AjChris Hadfield

Like a Hole Punch - confetti of farms using central irrigation in the American Southwest. Jan 2, 2013. http://pic.twitter.com/LRB9KI6TChris Hadfield

Seattle WA. Look carefully, you can see Pike Place Market. http://pic.twitter.com/0OFm0iO0Chris Hadfield

St John NB - beautiful in the sunlit snow. Taken from the International Space Station, 2 Jan 13 http://pic.twitter.com/XgoJvmFuChris Hadfield

Space Horizon - from a Pacific thunderstorm to infinity. http://pic.twitter.com/FjwIVSnyChris Hadfield

Calgary on a clear winter's day. Fewer clouds in this shot than the last - 2 Jan 13. http://pic.twitter.com/28CMhA16Chris Hadfield

Edmonton Alberta - the North Saskatchewan River looks serpentine, writhing through the capital city. http://pic.twitter.com/pHqGjCfUChris Hadfield

Winnipeg, Manitoba: Home of the (currently idle) Jets. Portage and Main are visible if you know where to look. http://pic.twitter.com/T1mAFYDGChris Hadfield

Tonight's finale: Montreal - home of the Canadian Space Agency (@csa_asc), just visible at the bottom of the photo. http://pic.twitter.com/k7VaMt0rChris Hadfield

Great Belt Bridge, Denmark, connecting Zealand and Fyn. Straight lines stand out against nature when viewed from space. http://pic.twitter.com/PyCYt2jpChris Hadfield

Ostrich skin of the Sahara. Change your viewing angle and Earth can quickly appear other worldly. http://pic.twitter.com/KXPBaR9SChris Hadfield

These mountains near Sochi, Russia remind me somehow of corduroy pillows. http://pic.twitter.com/O6s2KRzZChris Hadfield

So much of the World's beauty is simply art itself. http://pic.twitter.com/LXjPidWmChris Hadfield

Rocher Perce - Perce Rock - Gaspe, Quebec. A famous tourism site, looks different from up here! http://pic.twitter.com/NittkzrmChris Hadfield

Kiev, Ukraine - an historic major crossing place of water, rail and road. http://pic.twitter.com/lk7LzomxChris Hadfield

Baie des Chaleurs, New Brunswick, Canada. The name means 'bay of warmth', but the fingers of ice disagree. http://pic.twitter.com/domPuw6dChris Hadfield

The very northern tip of Newfoundland with clouds rolling in. Narrow strait across to Labrador from here. http://pic.twitter.com/I93nhW9RChris Hadfield

One last picture for the night: Casablanca. Here's lookin' at you. http://pic.twitter.com/DvIA2klQChris Hadfield

Halifax NS, on a crystal clear day. The type of city where you can easily see why sailors would have settled there. http://pic.twitter.com/OUMQM85PChris Hadfield

Chesapeake Bay from far away - you can even see the causeway. http://pic.twitter.com/KjxibNoUChris Hadfield

St Mary's County, MD - home of Patuxent River NAS, where I was a test pilot before becoming an astronaut. http://pic.twitter.com/tgm8W6XTChris Hadfield

Cagliari, Sardinia. Cool in January under scattered cloud. Some tremendous caves inside this island. http://pic.twitter.com/lSPHUz9tChris Hadfield

El Ejido, Spain - you can easily tell where the people live, even from orbit. http://pic.twitter.com/4ClayOvhChris Hadfield

Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit, and the town where I was born, Sarnia Ontario. http://pic.twitter.com/ohcuTdxiChris Hadfield

Ibiza, Spain - lovely in the Mediterranean Sea. http://pic.twitter.com/xU6J9jLZChris Hadfield

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