121-megapixel picture of Earth from Russia's Elektro-L No.1- most detailed photo yet

[Ichingcarpenter]

There's been a long history of NASA-provided "Blue Marble" images of Earth, but now we're getting a different perspective thanks to photos taken by the Elektro-L No.1 Russian weather satellite. Unlike NASA's images, this satellite produces 121-megapixel images that capture the Earth in one shot instead of a collection of pictures from multiple flybys stitched together. The result is an image that's the highest-resolution image of Earth yet. The image certainly looks different than what we're used to seeing, and that's because the camera aboard the weather satellite combines data from three visible and one infrared wavelengths of light, a method that turns vegetation into the rust color that dominates the shot.

An educator named James Drake obtained over 350 full-resolution photos from the NTs OMZ (Russian Research Center for Earth Operative Monitoring), and used them to make several videos showcasing a day in the life of Earth. The satellite takes a full image of Earth from its stationary point over 35,000 kilometers above the Indian Ocean every 30 minutes, providing the material for the video below. The images have a resolution of one kilometer per pixel, and the one you see above was taken on May 14, 2011. Be sure to check a zoomable version of the image here to see the detail for yourself and be reminded of just how tiny we really are.

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Its upside down that's India at the center for reference.

[emanymton]

1. The Future Awaits.

.

Impressive. ...

"Its upside down ..."

Really? Upside down? Back to school with this one, not ready for prime time. ... Sorry for being so picky.

Great pictures.

Ema Nymton
~ @ : o ?
.

[Ichingcarpenter]

5. In terms of normal human reference it is upside down

back at ya.....

[AtheistCrusader]

17. I knew the aussies were abnormal.

[OVERPAID01]

26. The northern hemisphere based maps

are designed to give the illusion that the Americas and Europe are larger than the other continents. That is the point of the northern hemisphere maps. The inverted map you see before you was very popular in the 60's, we had one in my classroom. I loved it and have one on my wall fully laminated 3ft x 6ft (to my wife's displeasure). You can get them in any map store (I actually had to special order mine it had sold out).

[louis-t]

27. I am blown away. I have never seen

a world map like this before. 55 years and this is a first. Saved for further study. Thanks.

[longship]

7. OZ residents would approve

In Australia, with their wonderful sense of humor, you can get a world map with South up and North down. It really expands ones thinking that the North up tradition is nothing but a cultural affectation.

Gotta love Aussies and Kiwis.

Oh! And Go Swans!

[Tanelorn]

10. I've just come of Facebook and desperately missing the like button

[obxhead]

14. Actually I think north being up has more to do with magnetism.

[longship]

15. Nope, cannot be

QED is symmetric through all translations and rotations of space. The only reason why North is up on maps, globes, etc. almost has to be because of cultural bias.

That's why those Aussie maps provide a teachable moment.

[AtheistCrusader]

18. Gravity tells me 'up' is away from the earth's center of mass.

Till you get outside the earth's gravitational field anyway.

[longship]

19. And those clever Aussies...

...have figured out how to tie themselves down to the ground so that don't fall off.

No wonder I like Footie* so much. It also explains those incredible leaping marks.

*AKA Australian rules football.

Ahem! As I said, Go Swans!

[Warpy]

21. No, it had to do with early navigation

which used the North Star in the northern hemisphere. Maps were oriented so the top was toward that star, which was, after all, "up."

Very early land maps could be oriented in any direction and showed paths and landmarks on a very small scale and showed things like the way to London from Coventry or to Aleppo from Baghdad.

[obxhead]

22. That makes more sense actually.

Thanks

[eppur_se_muova]

23. Actually, ancient Chinese maps had North at the bottom.

So it's not just what hemisphere you're in, it's how you want to hold the map when you read it, and that's pretty arbitrary.

[Hubert Flottz]

2. Beautiful

We need to take far better care of it!

[malaise]

3. Beautiful

Thanks

[Lionessa]

4. The land masses are a lot sienna than I thought they'd be. I was expecting

green. And the yellow, beautiful though I realize it's a pretty hard area to live, it's quite photogenic. Amazing.

[SemperEadem]

6. from the post

that's because the camera aboard the weather satellite combines data from three visible and one infrared wavelengths of light, a method that turns vegetation into the rust color that dominates the shot.

[MrSlayer]

8. Awesome.

Just beautiful. Far removed from the very ugly things going on here on the surface.

[stlsaxman]

9. why aren't the clouds moving?

if this is just a "single shot" why did they put that effect on it?

[progressoid]

13. They are.

View it full screen.

Also compare the south pole (at the top) at 15 seconds -vs- 2:55. It's slow, but it is there.

[stlsaxman]

24. Thanks for the tip! wow!

guess i'm used to seeing animated radar on wunderground or the like where the clouds zing by... in relation to the size of the continents i guess they are...

thanks again!

[tclambert]

11. Obviously fake. No giant turtle.

And because once again they painted out the giant turtle that supports the world, they had to paint out the background stars. Which ironically is yet more photographic proof of the existence of the giant turtle!

[Hubert Flottz]

16. The Great Spirit will get even for their fake picture!

[onethatcares]

12. what do the American pictures look like?

or are we still using film?

[lastlib]

20. If Repuglicans are in charge, we're using glass plates...

Can't have that 20th century librul stuff like film. After all, our Founding Fathers fought to maintain our right to use glass plates, and if it was good enough for them.... (an obligatory Michelle Bachmann moment there)

[Marie Marie]

25. wow. Now Sarah really can see Russia from her house.