Earth as Art
April 2, 2003 10:02 PM Subscribe
Step above it all for a moment, and take a look at stunning images of the planet as seen through the eyes of the Landsat-7 satellite. Select an area of the globe, or view an index of the images.
Finally... something right in my geek wheelhouse.
Landsat 7 ETM+ is my favorite satellite, for purely sentimental reasons. There are others out there that can deliver CNN-able "fine resolution" (look at the IKONOS gallery over at space imaging). But Landsat 7 ETM+ (the entire line of Landsat satellites, actually) are "feel good" satellites, in that they've been used for such amazing earth science research, (almost) completely untainted by military or commercial application.
You want to track Landsat 7 (and other satellites)? Head over to the single coolest site I've seen on the internet in the last 5 years... NASA's J-Track3d [Java popup of the most gentile, benevolent kind].
posted by cadastral at 10:32 PM on April 2, 2003
Landsat 7 ETM+ is my favorite satellite, for purely sentimental reasons. There are others out there that can deliver CNN-able "fine resolution" (look at the IKONOS gallery over at space imaging). But Landsat 7 ETM+ (the entire line of Landsat satellites, actually) are "feel good" satellites, in that they've been used for such amazing earth science research, (almost) completely untainted by military or commercial application.
You want to track Landsat 7 (and other satellites)? Head over to the single coolest site I've seen on the internet in the last 5 years... NASA's J-Track3d [Java popup of the most gentile, benevolent kind].
posted by cadastral at 10:32 PM on April 2, 2003
This is like dejah420 vu all over again: I remember downloading the screensaver after clicking onto a link here December 3, 2002. I found that by Googling Landsat on the Search page here, by the way.
posted by y2karl at 11:19 PM on April 2, 2003
posted by y2karl at 11:19 PM on April 2, 2003
Don't download the screensaver, by the way--it's insidious.
posted by y2karl at 11:21 PM on April 2, 2003
posted by y2karl at 11:21 PM on April 2, 2003
While we are talking about the stunning beauty of Earth as seen from above, please do take another look at the work of Yann Arthus-Bertnard (old MeFi thread). All of his photographs are taken from chartered planes and helicopters and thus necessarily have a smaller scope than sat images, but at the same time he introduces many creative and technical elements from traditional photography field. Either way, our planet seen out of usual context is beautiful enough to always make you consider once again how precious it is, if only for a moment.
Back to the shallow realm of our everyday lives, MeFi bachelors take note: purchasing a book of Yann's work has been one of the more worthwhile investment I made as far as first-date material is concerned. Everyone loves to look at beautiful photographs, and that book is very heavy so you and your date muct sort of huddle over it, and then it gives you a good excuse to give him/her a little shoulder massage... well, you can take it from there at your own pace :) Hmm, perhaps I should order one of those posters to hang on the ceiling above my bed?
posted by blindcarboncopy at 11:26 PM on April 2, 2003
Back to the shallow realm of our everyday lives, MeFi bachelors take note: purchasing a book of Yann's work has been one of the more worthwhile investment I made as far as first-date material is concerned. Everyone loves to look at beautiful photographs, and that book is very heavy so you and your date muct sort of huddle over it, and then it gives you a good excuse to give him/her a little shoulder massage... well, you can take it from there at your own pace :) Hmm, perhaps I should order one of those posters to hang on the ceiling above my bed?
posted by blindcarboncopy at 11:26 PM on April 2, 2003
Very nice. Thank you dejah!
posted by homunculus at 11:28 PM on April 2, 2003
posted by homunculus at 11:28 PM on April 2, 2003
This is like dejah420 vu all over again.
Doh! I searched, I swear I did! I think my mistake was searching for "Landsat-7". And I missed seeing the entry itself because December 3rd is the day I went into labor with my son...so I missed a few days of MeFi. :)
posted by dejah420 at 12:02 AM on April 3, 2003
Doh! I searched, I swear I did! I think my mistake was searching for "Landsat-7". And I missed seeing the entry itself because December 3rd is the day I went into labor with my son...so I missed a few days of MeFi. :)
posted by dejah420 at 12:02 AM on April 3, 2003
Stunning space pictures *and* a cute baby. My day is complete and it's only 9.23am. Thanks.
posted by squealy at 12:26 AM on April 3, 2003
posted by squealy at 12:26 AM on April 3, 2003
If anybody wants a Windows screen saver with these images, drop me a line. It's 9 MB and doesn't engage in any nefarious business.
posted by muckster at 1:20 AM on April 3, 2003
posted by muckster at 1:20 AM on April 3, 2003
Bah. Screw this .tiff crap, I want some wallpapers! Neat post!
posted by cohappy at 4:00 AM on April 3, 2003
posted by cohappy at 4:00 AM on April 3, 2003
dejah, I somehow missed this first tie around too, so I was delighted to find it - thanks! Absolutely beautiful - it looks so peaceful when you look at it from far away!
posted by madamjujujive at 8:28 AM on April 3, 2003
posted by madamjujujive at 8:28 AM on April 3, 2003
A peaceful place or so it looks from space,
A closer look reveals the human race.
posted by muckster at 9:22 AM on April 3, 2003
A closer look reveals the human race.
posted by muckster at 9:22 AM on April 3, 2003
« Older Mystical Knights of Tyr Na Nog !!! | Spring Forward Fall Back Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by TheFarSeid at 10:22 PM on April 2, 2003