An astronaut’s photo of Mount Everest

An astronaut’s photo of Mount Everest

TAKEN by an astronaut in the Expedition 26 Crew onboard the International Space Station, this stunning photo gives a great birds-eye view of the Mount Everest region.

The crew are using a Nikon D2X digital camera with an 800mm lens and have been asked to take images of Earth which will then be analysed by the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory at the Johnson Space Center (JSC).

William L. Stefanov, at NASA-JSC writes:

“This astronaut photograph highlights the northern approach to Mount Everest from Tibet (China). Known as the northeast ridge route, climbers travel along the East Rongbuk Glacier  to camp at the base of Changtse mountain. From this point at approximately 6,100 meters (20,000 feet) above sea level (asl), climbers ascend the North Col – a sharp-edged pass carved by glaciers, at image center – to reach a series of progressively higher camps along the North Face of Everest. Climbers make their final push to the summit (just off the top edge of the image) from Camp VI at 8,230 meters (27,000 feet) altitude.”

Photo courtesy of NASA

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