Pictures of Earth

If someone hasn't already sent you these earth-from-space photographs (yes that is a real photo above). You will be getting them from several friends in the next few days I am sure. These particular shots are a couple of years old but they are making a internet renaissance in a new format. All of these photos were taken from the Space Shuttle. I may have mentioned in the past that I suffer from a small addiction to pictures from the Hubble Space Telescope, but Hubble never turns it's cameras on the Earth, it can't focus on something so close!

Here is a link to one of the many sites where these images are posted. If you find them at all interesting, I strongly recommend downloading the PowerPoint presentation called Blue Beauty (just google picturesofearth.pps). The photos are so much clearer and make a much stronger impression viewed in a full screen PP mode. I don't know when I first saw these but I did not see them in the PP presentation, it really makes a huge difference in size and contrast.

While the night shot of Africa above is my favorite, there is one of Iceland that is so impressive. You know how they say Iceland is green and Greenland is ice; well maybe not so much. I am sure you will have your own favorite

Try to ignore the somewhat over-the-top words and music that accompany the PowerPoint slide show, sometimes people actually can't help themselves and try to enhance perfection.

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photo credit: NASA and Gaia