Hello Cyprus! International Space Station [ISS] Astronaut tweets photo from space.

A crew member from the international Space Station (ISS) has tweeted a stunning aerial photograph of Cyprus, taken as the craft passed over the region.

Samantha Cristoforetti tweeted: "Hello #Cyprus! And the coastline of #Turkey and #Syria on the easternmost Mediterranean shores.”

The crystal clear photo, which shows fairly heavy cloud cover for this time of year, also captures the entire island, as well as the coasts of southern Turkey, Syria and Lebanon.

Cristoforetti is an Italian European Space Agency astronaut, Italian Air Force pilot and engineer. She is the first Italian woman in space.

ISS is now the largest artificial body in orbit and can often be seen with the naked eye from Earth.

Credit: ISS