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EARTH
These are some of the most stunning images of our home and the only planet in the universe to known to have intellegent life.
(NASA)
This spectacular blue marble image is the most detailed true-color image of the entire Earth to date. Using a collection of satellite-based observations, scientists and visualizers stitched together months of observations of the land surface, oceans, sea ice, and clouds into a seamless, true-color mosaic of every square kilometer (.386 square mile) of our planet.
Much of the information contained in this image came from a single remote-sensing device-NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS. Flying over 700 km above the Earth onboard the Terra satellite.
(NASA)
Haze along the Himalaya
Haze hugged the Himalaya in late October 2008. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of the region on October 30, 2008. In this image, the haze obscures the satellite’s view of the ground surface along the southwestern face of the mountain range. An especially thick band of haze appears near the India-Pakistan border. A thick cluster of fires -- indicated by red dots -- occurs in the same area, although the band of haze passes over them. The haze in this image probably results from a combination of agricultural fires and urban pollution. The pale beige color of the haze near the India-Pakistan border suggests that some of the haze might also result from dust blown into the region from the west.
(NASA)
This true-color image over Morocco was acquired on April 23, 2000, by NASA's Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, flying aboard the Terra spacecraft. The image was produced using a combination of the sensor's 250-m and 500-m resolution bands. Notice the exquisite detail in the colors and textures of the variety of land surface features in northwestern Africa.
(NASA)
This image of Earth’s city lights was created with data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS). Originally designed to view clouds by moonlight, the OLS is also used to map the locations of permanent lights on the Earth’s surface.
The brightest areas of the Earth are the most urbanized, but not necessarily the most populated. (Compare western Europe with China and India.)
(NASA)
This classic photograph of the Earth was taken on December 7, 1972. The original caption is reprinted below:
View of the Earth as seen by the Apollo 17 crew traveling toward the moon. This translunar coast photograph extends from the Mediterranean Sea area to the Antarctica south polar ice cap. This is the first time the Apollo trajectory made it possible to photograph the south polar ice cap. Note the heavy cloud cover in the Southern Hemisphere. Almost the entire coastline of Africa is clearly visible. The Arabian Peninsula can be seen at the northeastern edge of Africa. The large island off the coast of Africa is the Malagasy Republic. The Asian mainland is on the horizon toward the northeast.
(NASA)
The Amazon Rainforest appears to have been colored solid with a green crayon in the western portion of this true-color image of northern Brazil captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on July 1, 2002. The Amazon River flows into the scene at the center left edge, a meandering brown line that widens as first the Rio Negro joins it from the north and then the Madeira joins it from the south. The Amazon flows eastward, eventually spilling its brownish, sediment-laden waters out into the Atlantic Ocean.
(NASA)
Dust blows out over the Atlantic Ocean from the Sahara in these MODIS images ranging from April 25 — April 29, 2002. The African countries of (top to bottom) Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, and Guinea are blanketed with dust. Dust can blow out over the Cape Verde Islands and reach all the way across the Atlantic to the United States.
(NASA)
Flowing northward for over 6,500 kilometers (4,039 miles), the Nile is the longest river in the world. The Nile makes life in a desert possible, and is used to irrigate farmland and even support a fishing industry.Lake Nassar (swollen spot in the river) is a reservoir held back by the Aswan Dam, and its fishing industry produces thousands of tons of fish each year. Like the major dam projects along the Colorado River in the western United States, the numerous dams along the Nile allow water storage and irrigation that support farming in a larger region, which would otherwise be mostly desert
These images and other imagery can be found at http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/
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