The following was posted on 22 December 2012 at the great website Open Culture – “The best free cultural & educational media on the web.” The image, described below, is available for direct download from the Astronomy Picture Of The Day archive HERE. For an enlightening afternoon of reading, consider checking out the many articles at Open Culture in the Astronomy category.

By Dan Colman

Taken at the International Space Station by astronaut Aki Hoshide (Japan), this awe-inspiring self portrait brings into one frame “the Sun, the Earth, two portions of a robotic arm, an astronaut’s spacesuit, the deep darkness of space, and the unusual camera taking the picture.” You’ll want to click the image above (or this link) to view the picture dubbed “Orbiting Astronaut Self-Portrait” in a worthy larger format.

Find other self-portraits taken in space here and here. And visit NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day for more striking images each and every day.

via @coudal

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