What do you do if you're stuck zooming above the Earth in a space station about the size of a football field for 340 days? You take a lot of pictures.
At least, that's what astronaut Scott Kelly did — along with growing space lettuce, going on spacewalks to renovate the International Space Station and participating in experiments to test how a year in microgravity affects the human body, of course.
Even with the experiments and maintenance work, though, a year on the space station (which equals about 5,000 trips around the Earth) leaves plenty of time to take some stellar photos — and when Kelly touched down on Earth on March 1, he had posted more than 1,000 pictures to Twitter and Instagram. [One Year in Space: Epic Space Station Mission in Photos]
Landscapes that look like abstract art, stunning pictures of the Milky Way, and one of the coolest selfies ever taken — pictures like these made Kelly's social media accounts out of this world, literally.
Take a peek at 12 of our favorites, one for each month Kelly lived on the International Space Station.
After a bout of mold threatened the crew's crop of zinnias, Kelly nursed the flowers back to life. He posted a photo of this beautiful bouquet to celebrate Valentine's Day.
Sunrise on the ISS means not only a brilliantly lit up Earth, but also a lit up space station. The glow from the Earth surrounds the whole station in an orange glow.
Kelly snaps one of the coolest selfies ever taken—himself suited up for a spacewalk.
Cool blue water of the Bahamas makes this shot look more like abstract art than a picture of the Earth.
Hurricane Jimena swirls over the Earth, and dwarfs the moon in the distance.
The brilliant colors of an aurora light up the Earth.
Follow Kasandra Brabaw on Twitter @KassieBrabaw. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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