The Best Video of Earth from Space Ever Made

By Michael Moyer | November 14, 2011 | 3

Share Share Email Print Print

This timelapse video of photographs taken from the International Space Station between August and October is just stunning:

The photographs were taken by astronaut Ron Garan, whose photographs were the subject of a Compound Eye post from a few weeks back. In them you can see the aurora (both Borealis and Australis), pinprick cities, and my personal favorite, lightning storms like firecrackers.

(via kottke.org)

About the Author: Michael Moyer is the editor in charge of space and physics coverage at Scientific American. Follow on Twitter @mmoyr.

More »

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

Tags: iss, timelapse, video

Previous: Silicon Valley Innovators Share Their Vision of the Future

More
Observations

Next: Phone Calls and Exercise Make Pain Treatments More Effective

Rights & Permissions

3 Comments

Add Comment

1. Wayne Williamson 7:55 pm 11/14/2011

Really cool video…In some ways it would have been nice to just see the orbits compressed instead of the chopping…I spent a lot of the time trying to figure out where the video was taken…Thanks again…
Link to this
2. spinnor 9:35 pm 11/14/2011

Wow! Thank you! Looks computer generated %^) but I hope its 100% the real thing. It should be played somewhat slower though. Love the city lights, auroras, and lightning storms.

This should be enjoyed by the Masses.
Link to this
3. Tue Sorensen 12:27 am 11/17/2011

For the best video ever, this has been speeded (sped?) up to a ridiculously frenetic pace which robs the whole experience of its majesty. I want to be able to catch some surface detail. Where can one find part of this video in real-time, or at least slow-time??
Link to this

Add a Comment
You must sign in or register as a ScientificAmerican.com member to submit a comment.
Click one of the buttons below to register using an existing Social Account.