Beautiful photographs of heavenly bodies can be seen everyday here on Earth. But when the star is Earth itself and the photo is taken in ultra-high definition, now that’s a shot Annie Leibovitz would envy.
A stunning new image of our planet was taken by the Suomi NPP Earth-watching satellite, which is in orbit to monitor natural disasters, improve weather forecasts, and study long-term climate change. The photo, a composite of images taken at the beginning of January this year, is available for viewing at a remarkable 8,000 pixel resolution, about eight times greater than your average hi-def shots. It’s also reminiscent of the now-famous Blue Marble photograph taken by the crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft in 1972.
It appears that, like many of her inhabitants, the camera loves Mother Earth.
