New Photos: Earth's Big Blue Marble from Space

Earth From Space: The Secret of NASA's Amazing 'Blue Marble' Photos

by Tariq Malik, SPACE.com Managing Editor

Date: 03 February 2012 Time: 12:11 PM ET

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This photo from NASA's Suomi NPP satellite shows the Eastern Hemisphere of Earth in "Blue Marble" view. The photo, released Feb. 2, 2012, is a companion to a NASA image showing the Western Hemisphere in the same stunning detail. This photo was taken on Jan. 23. CREDIT: NASA/NOAA View full size image

NASA's newest Earth-watching satellite is beaming back spectacular views of our home planet – huge mosaics of many images stitched together at the highest-resolution yet obtained. But there's a bit of science mojo at work to create the stunning photos.
The new Earth photos, which NASA scientists have dubbed "Blue Marble" views, come from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite. The minivan-size spacecraft is the first of its kind: an Earth-observing satellite built to collect data for both short-term weather forecasts and long-term climate models.
The latest photo was released Thursday (Feb. 2) and shows the sharpest view yet of the Eastern Hemisphere as it appeared on Jan. 23. The continent of Africa dominates the view, with the Middle East and Asia stretching up toward the top of the frame.

MORE: http://www.space.com/14466-earth-space-photos-blue-marble-suomi-npp.html

ALSO - MAKING OF NASA's BIG BLUE MARBLE:
>>> http://www.sciencefriday.com/program/archives/201202034

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