This video, taken from aboard the International Space Station over the course of several nights, is absolutely incredible. It makes the most compelling argument for both investing into space travel and research, and protecting this fragile home we occupy in the immense vastness of the cold universe:
Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.
Simply breathtaking!
Phil Plait, at Bad Astronomy puts it best:
I’m so overwhelmed by the beauty and coolness of this video I’m not sure which part I like best! The cities streaming by underneath; the instantly recognizable outlines of familiar places like the Great Lakes or the boot of Italy; the incredible flickering thunderstorms — giving you an understanding that there are always thousands of such storms all over the planet at any one time; the incredible 3D view of the green and red aurorae which you can actually see as towering structures dozens or even hundreds kilometers in height; the stars rising and setting and spinning over the horizon; the reflection of the Moon on the Earth below following along our point of view at 2:50 into the footage; or the thin glowing arc above the horizon: airglow, caused by molecules in the upper atmosphere slowly emitting light as they release energy accumulated during the day.
It’s all fantastic.
For me the most heart stopping thing is seeing the extremely thin layer of atmosphere on the horizon that protects every living being on Earth from the ravages of space. We wouldn’t be here without it, and we really should do everything we can to maintain its good health.
No comments:
Post a Comment