Ever Wanted to Take a Ride Over Earth? Stunning Vid Shows You What It’s Like
- Posted on September 20, 2011 at 2:43pm by
Liz Klimas
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Ever wonder what it would feel like to fly over Earth in space? How about in less than 60 seconds?
This time-lapse video from the International Space Station is about as close as you’ll ever get to this feeling with both feet still on the ground:
According to the Daily Mail, the film was created by science teacher James Drake and starts over the Pacific Ocean moving over North and South America and entering daylight near Antarctica. Drake created the video by putting together 600 images from the ISS.
In the video, you can see Vancouver Island, Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Fransisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, various large conurbations in Texas, New Mexico, Mexico City, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Yucatan Peninsula. Look closely around the top of Earth and you will see the ionosphere — a thin yellow line — and stars, which look like little flashes of lightening, are also visible. View more of Drake’s work on his blog.
The thin yellow line seen in the distance above Earth is the ionosphere. This layer of the upper atmosphere plays a part in atmospheric electricity.
Although Drake’s video over Earth ends in Antarctica, there are more wonders coming from the International Space Station over this continent. NASA astronauts recently released a video of the aurora australis – or the Southern Lights above Antarctica — from their spaceship view:
If you are wondering what creates these spectacular light shows, another article from the Daily Mail has the story:
When high-energy particles from the Sun strike oxygen atoms in our atmosphere, the atoms ‘release’ the energy in the form of light particles, or photons. These tend to be emitted at wavelengths centered at 0.558 micrometers, or millionths of a metre – which the human eye perceives as green.
Light from the sun ‘reflects’ off plant leaves at the same wavelength, which is why plants look green to us.
Red lights are created by a longer wavelength. Other colors can be generated as well, but it just depends on the energy of the particles and the altitude where impact between oxygen and nitrogen occurs.
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Comments (63)
ROB RAGE
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 5:07pmAccording to NASA…the Sun will have a Super solar flare event in 2013…when this happened in the 1880′s people saw Northern lights in Panana…..The good news back then was that only telegraph lines were fried world wide…that’s the only electric source at the time…In 2013 the event will have a catastrophic effect…frying everything on the electrical grids..and any components with circuitry…chips etc.!
Report Post »Right_on_the_Left_Coast
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 5:39pmI know. It scares the living daylights out of me to think about. I first heard about this potential (and the fact that we haven’t taken steps to guard against it) in the last few weeks. My family is totally unprepared for such an event, and I don‘t make enough money to store the kind of food we’d need or the other kinds of equipment we’d need.
We’re sitting ducks, and they say that between the anarchy, looting, lack of food, clean water and available medical care — 9 out of 10 people would die within the first several months from either violence, starvation, or disease. I only hope that they’re wrong, because I don’t have a clue what I can do about it.
Report Post »The-Monk
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 8:29pmCould NASA be off a little? I keep thinking about the 12-21-2012 projected event. One month before either a new President takes Office or Obama is still there.
Report Post »poverty.sucks
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 10:07pmWhenever God judges, nature is involved.
Report Post »JJ Coolay
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 3:36amY2K anyone?
Report Post »kryptonite
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 5:00pmIs this awesome or what! I’ll get to see it all one glorious day for free, traveling in eternity, no spacecraft needed. Whoopee!
Report Post »db321
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 1:05amAnd we can all thank Al Gore for repairing the problems in God’s design.
Report Post »Tickdog
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:44pmneat o.
Report Post »vtxphantom
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 9:55pmThat has got to be one helluva ride.
Report Post »JJ Coolay
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 3:37amVery cool view. Love seeing the thunder storms.
Report Post »rvill0048
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:32pmBeautiful. The universe is marvelous. It is so remarkable that everything fell into place the way it did, without a bearded man in the sky.
Report Post »Codger
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:42pmMaybe you have the wrong view of GOD. I don’t see him as a bearded man in the sky but rather more like an all guiding force in the universe. Follow that force or not, it’s up to you.
Report Post »TunaBlue
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:56pmI think he’s referring to Santa Claus. Any halfwit knows that God doesn’t live in the “sky.”
Report Post »hannahh
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 6:10pmMy GOD is an awesome GOD!!
Report Post »JJ Coolay
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 3:38amHannah.. right on!!!
Report Post »Biff Marupis
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:11pmVery cool!
Report Post »santramir
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:08pmits a shame to recall the mess down here we have created.
Report Post »COFemale
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:08pmTruly amazing, God’s work can be seen for miles.
Report Post »SageInWaiting
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:07pmAnother reason to be a conservationist – not what the libs call themselves; they are using the environment to push their political agenda. More along the lines of the tea party, who gather and leave a place cleaner than how they found it… must be that part about “being responsible” again. Don’t waste it – it‘s all we’ve got yet use what you need for the benefit of man kind.
We’ve come a long way (I hope) from the days of the decimation of the buffalo herds as people shot them from trains to pass the time “just because they were there” – after all, there were SO MANY of them!
Report Post »Exrepublisheep
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:32pmDrill baby, drill. In the Everglades too.
Report Post »santramir
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:06pmwouldn’t it be good to have only this kind of articles in the media? why the beautiful world is so corrupted that living is mainly made of problems and fights? is not the human inteligence enough to solve all the material problems for everyone and dedicate the life time to live as one?? why religions have to be against each other instead of lead as one? why a few greedy people have made this amazing planet a living hell? was God wrong choosing the ones he chose? was not it as it is said? is not God any of what is been described? how can it be possible to God to allow and even promote the mess the planet is going through even to the point to have its own existence at risk? so many questions can be inspired on a short video like this
Report Post »They SMEAR what they FEAR
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 9:44amHere’s the answer to your questions Mr. Lennon: EVIL exists
Report Post »DeclareTruth
Posted on September 21, 2011 at 1:11pmSantramir, you said: “why the beautiful world is so corrupted that living is mainly made of problems and fights? is not the human inteligence enough to solve all the material problems for everyone and dedicate the life time to live as one??” – Santramir – Why indeed? And have you not answered your own question? It is human nature and human intelligence that has caused all the problems that you see in God’s beautiful world. Your questions seem rhetorical as if you don’t believe there are really any answers. The idea that all religions should be leading as one indicates a lack of understanding of what a worldview is. A person who believes that everything is god cannot lead with someone who thinks that their god wants them to kill those who don’t believe what they do and someone who knows that God is the creator of everything and says of Himself that “God is love.” How could there possibly be agreement on how to lead? And the world has not been destroyed by a “few” greedy people, either. Look inside your own soul and if you’re honest, there is greed there too. God calls it “sin.” God has given people free will because He did not choose to be worshipped by puppets. The evil in the world is not caused by God, but by people. You can’t have free will to do good without also having free will to do evil.
Report Post »sister1_rm
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 3:52pmI know this is not on topic, but it need to be known by as many people as possible, as fast as possible. As of yesterday, Anonymous (hackers group) has issued and attack against the NYPD. They want to cripple the communications of the officers on duty, particularly those on Wallstreet. Share this link with as many as you think will take it seriously. This is domestic terrorism and it must be stopped.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL1iTKLPvxg&feature=share
COFemale
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:06pmPlease stop posting this mantra. It is annoying.
Report Post »Sky0bserv3r
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 3:51pmI’m an Astronut! I love seeing video like this! To see more COOL videos; http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html
Report Post »Ethereal
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 5:17pmSo what flashes of light are being referred to as stars? I did see flashes of light visible within the cloud tops and those WERE flashes of lightning. I saw a few stars blink when they passed the plain of the ionosphere but were those the flashes the author is talking about? Unclear.
Report Post »moreteaplease
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 3:49pmAll created by God.
Report Post »WhiteFang
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 3:37pmAnd some say there is no God.
Isaiah 40:25 “But to whom can YOU people liken me so that I should be made his equal?” says the Holy One. 26 “Raise YOUR eyes high up and see. Who has created these things? It is the One who is bringing forth the army of them even by number, all of whom he calls even by name. Due to the abundance of dynamic energy, he also being vigorous in power, not one [of them] is missing.
Report Post »banjarmon
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 3:32pmWe learn more each day….making more question… that need answers.
Report Post »Tom K
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 3:26pmJust a glimpse of God’s creation. Thanks.
Report Post »lastgoodnametaken
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 3:18pmDamn – I was blinking!
Report Post »Laus Deo
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 3:25pmLaus Deo!!
Report Post »cnerd
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 3:17pmSo Cool! Who said there there is no God.
Report Post »dna8184
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 3:12pmAwsome….
Report Post »Thank you blaze…
CultureWarriors
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 3:07pmNot that is awesome!
Report Post »truthseekerusa
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 3:06pmThank you, editors, for putting this on the Blaze. I am going to share it with my grandkids!
Report Post »John 3:16
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 3:05pmMy wife is now correct, I am a real space case.
Report Post »lbk
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 3:03pmJust one word—-WOW!
Report Post »Elena2010
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 2:58pmNow, how cool is that! Great job bringing this story to us.
Report Post »ConservativeCharlie
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 2:55pmbeautiful.
Report Post »NOBALONEY
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 2:54pmI’m an astronaut!
Report Post »Biff Marupis
Posted on September 20, 2011 at 4:12pmI’m not an astronaut, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night!
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