Earth Matters

Another kind of image of the day

September 4th, 2012 by Mike Carlowicz

Every day we bring you a different view of Earth, as only NASA can see it…from high above, and usually from space.

One of our colleagues has also been working since 2000 to bring you breathtaking views of Earth…albeit, from a perspective that’s a bit closer to the ground. Together with a few professional helpers and hundreds of amateur photographers, atmospheric scientist Jim Foster of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center offers up the Earth Science Picture of the Day. Here is a recent offering that caught my eye:

Foster and photographer Jimmy Hamilton wrote: “Airplanes are great places to observe sunsets as long as you have a window seat…The photo above was taken mid-flight somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, on a flight from the Dominican Republic to London, England. I was presented with this startling view when I popped open the window blind. The Sun was illuminating the base of the clouds producing a seemingly upside down sunset.”

Check out more Earth photos, and learn how to submit your own, by visiting EPOD.

2 Responses to “Another kind of image of the day”

  1. Allen says:

    Stunning. I agree that high flying jets are a great place for such observations. I always reserve a window seat and usually plan what side I sit on based on the direction of the flight and the time of day, betting that I’ll get a great sunrise or sunset. Some of my favorite flights for this kind of observing are overnight from Europe to Cape Town, South Africa. Amazing sunrise at both ends: Table Mountain at CT in the morning and Silhouette of the Alps in and AM headed back north.
    Aloha,
    A

  2. Richard T says:

    My spirits are lifted watching electrical storms from on high onthe run from uk to China. Amazing that you can observe the regularity of the discharge lightening. It’s almost as if a giant capacitor is firing off, which I suppose it is really!