If life on Earth is getting you down, maybe it's time to take a moment to think about the bigger picture — like the view of our planet from the International Space Station.
Astronaut Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency shared incredible video footage from just that viewpoint on Twitter Sunday (July 15).
The video, which is sped up by a factor of 12.5, shows Gerst's view as the station passes over the U.S. and Africa. In the footage, the space station passes over about 8,700 miles (14,000 kilometers).
Gerst is one of six astronauts currently aboard the space station, where he is joined by three U.S. astronauts and two Russian cosmonauts. The crew has been together for nearly a month and a half now. Shortly after posting the timelapse, Gerst and his colleague, U.S. astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor, prompted release of the Cygnus capsule that had been resupplying the space station.
This is Gerst's second visit to the space station, where he has been spending much of his time working on experiments dealing with topics like time perception and cancer research.
Gerst will stay at the space station until December and has been enthusiastically sharing his experience on social media — so there will probably be more stunning videos to come.
Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her @meghanbartels. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
