Talk about the ultimate in aerial views: NASA astronaut Terry Virts, traveling 250 miles above Earth on the International Space Station, is photographing every MLB ballpark from space and asking fans to guess the location.
Virts, a Baltimore Orioles fan, is posting the images on his Twitter and Instragram accounts. He’s posting the image first and then asking for followers to guess the location. He’s using the #ISSPlayBall hashtag to denote the ballpark images:
#OpeningDay! This #Namethe city prepared me for where I am today. #ISSPlayBall fans, guess now, answer comes later. pic.twitter.com/CeZb97QCvw
— Terry W. Virts (@AstroTerry) April 6, 2015
“This is my favorite thing to do in orbit,” Virts said via NASA. “I like to try to think of creative ways to take pictures, from a new perspective, or with new lighting. There is always something interesting looking out the window — if it’s lightning, aurora, city lights at night, interesting geology on Earth, wide angle ‘big picture’ scenes of the Earth as a planet, the moon, planets or even stars — there is never a lack of good subject matter. You just have to be prepared and able to use the camera very quickly and proficiently. At the speed we travel a good picture is often fleeting and only available for a few seconds. It’s also fun to take time lapse sequences that we can turn into movies that brings the view a little more to life. But as good as the camera is, it’s just not even close to the same thing as being here in person.”
#Namethe city answer is #Houston as seen from @Space_Station. Home of @NASA_Johnson. #ISSPlayBall pic.twitter.com/NpKcd4cbyL
— Terry W. Virts (@AstroTerry) April 6, 2015
By the way, the city in the above tweet: Houston, hosting Minute Maid Park. Yes, the ballparks are a little hard to make out in the photos, but clarity isn’t the point: this is a pretty cool exercise for any ballpark fan.
There may be some special bonuses for fans this season: Virt brought a #42 Jackie Robinson jersey aboard the International Space Station, and we’re guessing it will make a special appearance when MLB hosts its annual celebration of the civil rights pioneer.