Excerpts from Anousheh’s blog from space.
I was finally able to take a look outside and saw the Earth for the first time Tears started rolling down my face. I could not catch my breath Even thinking about it now still brings tears to my eyes. Here it was this beautiful planet turning graciously about itself, under the warm rays of the Sun so peaceful so full of life no signs of war, no signs of borders, no signs of trouble, just pure beauty
How I wished everyone could experience this feeling in their heart, specially those who are at the head of the governments in the world. may be this experience would give them a new perspective and help bring peace to the world.
During sunlight (day time) you can see hundreds of shades of blue in the oceans depending on the depth of the ocean and how the sun is reflecting off the surface You can see the land masses, mostly without vegetation, with these veins running through them in different shapes. These are either rivers or reminiscent of water flowing on the ground and making its mark as it travels down to the oceans
The cities are easily distinguishable because they look like someone took a shovel and messed up the ground in that area. The agricultural lands have specific geometric shapes and demonstrate different colors based on the crop and the type of soil. You cannot see any borders you cannot tell where one country ends and another one starts the only border you see is the border between land and water.
Most of the nights when I look out, I can see thunderstorms down below. I know its not pleasant for people experiencing the storm on the ground, but from up here, it looks like a magnificent light show. These flashes of light pop up in different locations randomly. The other night as I was watching this I was listening to Canon by Johann Pachelbel, and it looked like someone was orchestrating the lightning with the music I think we were somewhere near the coast of Australia over the Pacific Ocean
But that is not the best part. The best part and by far my favorite view up here is the view of the universe at night. The stars up here are unbelievable It looks like someone has spread diamond dust over a black velvet blanket. The Milky Way is easily visible like a rainbow of stars over the entire earth I cannot keep my eyes off of them I put my head to the window and stay there until the coldness of the glass gives me a headache then I pull my head back a little and continue gazing out.
Her blog is located at http://spaceblog.xprize.org/