Astronaut Scott Kelly's feet as the International Space Station orbits over the Bahamas, December 26, 2015. Photo / Scott Kelly/Nasa via The New York Times
Astronaut Scott Kelly's feet as the International Space Station orbits over the Bahamas, December 26, 2015. Photo / Scott Kelly/Nasa via The New York Times
The New Zealand Herald is bringing back some of the best stories of 2019 from our premium international syndicators, including The New York Times, Financial Times, The Times of London and Harvard Business Review.
Merry Christmas. This afternoon while you slip into a food coma, catch up on Nasa astronautScott Kelly's photos from space, a Silicon Valley billionaire's big gamble, a sailing boat crewed by toddlers, the man who proposed 14 times and surfing in Ireland.
Scott Kelly spent a year taking photos in space. They're beautiful
In orbit aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Scott Kelly wasn't just gathering data for Nasa's Twins Study.
He aimed his Nikon D4 camera toward the windows of the space station's cupola or — his preferred spot — a porthole in the floor of a laboratory module.
A frozen lake in the Himalayas, seen from the International Space Station, January 6, 2016. Photo / Scott Kelly/Nasa via The New York Times
Silicon Valley billionaire takes a gamble on weed-infused beer
When Brendan Kennedy gave up a career in finance to gamble on the commercial potential of legalised cannabis, everyone thought he was crazy. Now his company is valued at $3.7 billion.
Brendan Kennedy gave up a finance career in Silicon Valley to take a gamble on the world of legalised cannabis. Photo / Getty Images
Sailing in treacherous waters to Alaska. With toddlers for crew
With a barely-4-year-old and a not-quite-2-year-old, in a 32-foot boat sailing up the Inside Passage, a family discovers the best rewards are those never imagined.
"We are adventurers. We are also parents. It's a dilemma we all must face: how to reconcile our many different identities into a life that feels true, and good, and, in the end, responsible."
Paul Luykx and Tanya Pushkine, after their wedding ceremony at Brooklyn Winery in New York. The two met through a dating website in 2016. Photo / An Rong Xu, The New York Times
Ireland takes on Hawaii as big surf capital of the world
In the 1970s and 80s, California surfer and writer Kevin Naughton and photographer Craig Peterson travelled the globe "Endless Summer"-style searching for perfect waves.
When they arrived in Ireland there was a sense of disbelief that perhaps of all places, it was here they had found what they were looking for.