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Earth's true colors shine through to space (pictures)

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly captured our planet's vibrant colors from the space station and shared the gorgeous images on Twitter in a series called "Colors of Earth."

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
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1 of 10 Scott Kelly/NASA

Orange sands

Earth as seen from the International Space Station is a canvas of startlingly bright colors. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly has been documenting the planet's brilliant landscapes during a yearlong stay on the space station, and shared a series on Twitter with the hashtag #ColorsOfEarth.

Kelly doesn't specify exactly where the vividly orange sands in this picture are located, but it is a close visual match for some previous images he took of the Sahara desert in Africa. It almost looks like a close-up of the skin of an overripe orange.

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2 of 10 Scott Kelly/NASA

Snowy stretch of white

Astronaut Scott Kelly shared a series of images taken from space on Twitter with the hashtag #ColorsOfEarth. This geometric view from above shows a snow-covered landscape cut into an uneven grid.

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3 of 10 Scott Kelly/NASA

Green sea

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly looked down from the International Space Station with a camera and shot this surreal image of a green sea curving against a beige land mass as its tendrils reach into the shore. The green could be caused by algae or the growth of aquatic plant life.

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4 of 10 Scott Kelly/NASA

Yellow desert

This view of a yellow desert came from a camera on the International Space Station. The image is part of the "Colors of Earth" series Kelly shared on social media.

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5 of 10 Scott Kelly/NASA

Red and purple Earth

An Australian landscape pops up in bright shades of red and purple in this photo taken by orbiting astronaut Scott Kelly. Kelly is nearing the end of a yearlong stay in space, and he has dedicated quite a bit of time to snapping and sharing scenic photographs of Earth on Twitter and Facebook.

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6 of 10 Scott Kelly/NASA

Many shades of blue waters

A gradation of shades of blue is on display in this image taken from the International Space Station by astronaut Scott Kelly.

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7 of 10 Scott Kelly/NASA

Sunset from space

The final entry in astronaut Scott Kelly's "Colors of Earth" series of photos shared on social media is this view of a sunset from the space station. Kelly shared it along with a good-night message on day 326 of his nearly yearlong stay aboard the ISS.

These most recent photos aren't the only colorful images of Earth that Kelly has shared; continue on for some other favorites.

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8 of 10 Scott Kelly/NASA

Tie-dye from above

Astronaut Scott Kelly captured this image of Africa in early 2016 from his vantage point onboard the International Space Station. He tweeted it out with the message "Earth without art is just Eh." It showcases just how fantastical parts of Earth's surface can look from far above the planet.

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9 of 10 Scott Kelly/NASA

Blue Bahamas

This might looks like a dramatic oil painting, but it's really an image of the Bahamas taken by Kelly from the ISS. Small, dark islands are visible in the wavy sea of blue.

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10 of 10 Scott Kelly/NASA

Purple in Africa

A section of African landscape appears dark purple in this photo taken from the ISS. Astronaut Scott Kelly shared it in January as part of his ongoing social-media conversation with space fans down on Earth. Kelly is nearing the end of a yearlong stay aboard the ISS.

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