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Thursday 26 January 2012

EARTH 2012 A.D. - THE BLUE MARBLE!


Earth Blue Marble
Home, sweet home. Earth as it appeared on 4 January 2012.
Credit: NASA/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)/Suomi NPP/Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)/Norman Kuring.

25 January 2012 - This amazingly breathtaking high-definition image of our planet - resembling a "Blue Marble" - was made by NASA's next-generation Suomi NPP satellite, launched on 28 October 2011. This is a composite image created from multiple scans taken with the satellite's Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS).

Download the large version (16.4 MB) of this image here

Suomi NPP is equipped to do far more than provide Earthlings with some stunning views of their home planet. Five instruments are traveling aboard the first-of-its-kind satellite, designed to improve both short-term weather forecasts and the overall understanding of long-term climate change.

In addition, the technology aboard is designed to monitor natural disasters, from volcanic eruptions to wildfires to floods.

Suomi NPP now orbits Earth about 14 times each day and observes nearly the entire surface.

Earth is not doomed - yet! It's a magnificent planet. Enjoy the view!

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