Ron Garan is an astronaut, and also an artist. Stationed in space, he photographs the cosmos, and then shares those images with us. He maintains a blog, titled after this planet: Fragile Oasis.
Of late he has been chiefly responsible for two remarkable 
videos, one of which is embedded here, the second available at the link at the bottom of this post.
The video below documents the recent return of Garan and two fellow cosmonauts, Alexander Samokutyaev and Andrey Borisenko, from the International Space Station. That it is accompanied by perfectly appropriate music from Peter Gabriel helps, but the primary power emanates from the images. For Stewart Brand knew what he was about, way back when, in understanding that those first NASA photographs of the planet, as seen from space, were vital, important, revealing “an island,” “this little blue, white, green and brown jewel.”
Whole-earth photographs always make me feel tender towards the planet. And all aboard. For though in one sense it’s big, and the creatures on it are so . . . busy, it’s also so very small, and so fragile. I feel like I ought to take care of it.
The related video, consisting of nighttime earthside footage only, can be found in a worthy Diary over on the Orange Place. People should go there, too.
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