A Twitter star in space - Off Duty, Technology - Navy Times

A Twitter star in space

You might say Army Col. Doug Wheelock posts snapshots to Twitter on the fly.

The NASA astronaut was recently honored with a top social media award for one of those shots, an ethereal image, below, of the moon captured last year during his six-month stint aboard the International Space Station.

The infantry officer-turned-Army aviator-turned-Space Shuttle crewman-turned-International Space Station commander turned to Twitter to give his 100,000 followers a steady stream of shots.

“Don’t tell me that the sky is the limit, when there are footprints on the moon … sure looks beautiful setting behind our blue planet, maybe one day we’ll be daring enough to go back,” he posted June 22 on his Twitter account alongside the winning picture.

Dubbed simply “Moon from Space,” the image won best Real-Time Photo of the Year.

The Shorty Awards honor people and organizations producing short-form, real-time social media content, determined by a combination of popular vote and by members of the Real-Time Academy of Short Form Arts & Sciences.

“The dream of space exploration belongs to everyone, and I am grateful I can play even a small role in connecting people to the universe,” Wheelock said last month as he was handed his Shorty in New York City.