Earth as Art: Stunning New Images From Space

[n2doc]

By Betsy Mason November 16, 2010 | 3:39 pm



Earth is truly beautiful when viewed from space. But add some false color produced by satellite sensors, and the result is stunning.

The U.S. Geological Survey has released a new selection of particularly interesting images from the Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 satellites. These space craft have been prolific sources of data for earth scientist, but the new shots were chosen solely based on aesthetics.

We've selected our favorites from the USGS' Earth as Art collection in this gallery, which will take you on a tour of the world from the glaciers of Antarctica to the deserts of Algeria.

Images and captions courtesy USGS. High-resolution images.

Above:

Great Salt Desert, Iran
Like poster paints run wild, this image reveals an eclectic montage of landscapes in Iran's largest desert, the Dasht-e Kavir, or Great Salt Desert. The word kavir is Persian for salt marsh. The almost-uninhabited region covers an area of more than 77,000 square kilometers <29,730 square miles> and is a mix of dry streambeds, desert plateaus, mudflats and salt marshes. Extreme heat, dramatic daily temperature swings, and violent storms are the norm in this inhospitable place.

Image taken by Landsat 7 on Feb. 10, 2003

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/11/earth-as-art-gallery/

[Demit]

1. I'm with the folks who say the false color ruins it.

Those would be pretty awful colors together in any case. Even Earth itself knows that.