Here's Kelly's first stunning shot of Earth from space, taken 27 weeks ago.
His photos are filled with striking colors, from neon greens...
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/1T_5kQgXkJ/embed/
Width: 658px
... To vibrant yellow. Unfortunately, Kelly used to not include where these photos were taken, leaving his Instagram audience to guess where these shots were taken.
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/4zN3h8AXgI/embed/
Width: 658px
But lately he's been getting much better, labeling his shots with hashtags to share its location, like this leaf-like picture over the #Sahara desert.
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/8_vZI5gXjz/embed/
Width: 658px
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdAnd this one over South America, which looks like something straight out of a kaleidescope.
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/9EvDnvAXgO/embed/
Width: 658px
Kelly has also been good at documenting huge natural disasters, like Hurricane Patricia, which reached winds up to 200 mph before making landfall.
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/9MWBMBAXmh/embed/
Width: 658px
His perspective living up on the International Space Station makes for some one-of-a-kind shots, like this one of a desert lake. Kelly remarks that the reflection from the cloud makes it look as if this lake is actually filled with liquid metal.
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/42EUBKAXpe/embed/
Width: 658px
While he's up there, Kelly is taking part in studies to see what happens to the human body while it's out in space for a year, along with Kelly's twin, Mark who's on Earth for comparison.
Kelly labels the photos with the hashtag #EarthArt. It's easy to see why.
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/8RCnOHgXu7/embed/
Width: 658px
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdKelly captures other amazing phenomenon, like these Northern Lights as seen with Chicago in the foreground.
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/8Wk24vgXqv/embed/
Width: 658px
Kelly recently made it past the halfway point on his yearlong tour in the ISS, which he celebrated with this Instagram selfie.
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/8HIexRgXpJ/embed/
Width: 658px
Kelly edged past US astronaut Mike Fincke’s record of 382 cumulative days in space on October 16. Kelly passed another milestone for the most time consecutively spent in space by a US astronaut on October 29.
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/8reZBfgXhD/embed/
Width: 658px
Earlier in October, Kelly took to setting up photo series based on certain locations that showcase the wide variety in colors and textures in those areas. Here's his first in a series on the Australian continent.
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/8vqBYUgXgP/embed/
Width: 658px
This one, also in the series of the Australian continent, looks more like an abstract work of art than an actual place here on Earth.
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/8v_DPvAXuj/embed/
Width: 658px
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdSeriously. How are these photos real?!
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/7-1q9WgXi0/embed/
Width: 658px
Kelly's also started a series on industrialized China, highlighting different factory areas in the country. So far, he's shared five of his 10 pictures.
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/83W_jZAXuP/embed/
Width: 658px
Kelly won't return back to Earth until March 2016, giving him plenty more time to take photos, like this one of China that's part of a larger series.
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/83arligXk2/embed/
Width: 658px
We'll keep watching along for more mesmerizing photos.
Instagram Embed:
http://instagram.com/p/81kU8xgXtL/embed/
Width: 658px