15 Amazing Satellite Images
By now we’ve all see the Obamaguration satellite pictures, which brought home once again the tremendous power of the space-bird’s eye view. Of course, there are also the various creepy government surveillance possibilities of satellite imagery, but we feel those have been adequately explored in several Hollywood blockbusters. No, for us satellite images are simply great visual shorthands for mass movements and changes on the ground (or underwater, see number 12 below). With that in mind, here are Listicles favorite 15 Amazing Satellite Images.
The Great Wall of China
The Yangtze River and Three Gorges Dam in China
The Obamaguration
New York City and environs
Los Angeles, city and sprawl
The World’s Lights from Space
The 2003 Northeast Blackout
The Greenhouses in the Almeria region of Southern Spain
Yes, the white stuff is greenhouses, not snow, and this is the second man-made structure visible to the naked eye from space after the Great Wall above.
Deforestation in the Amazon
A Sandstorm from the Sahara Blowing Over the Atlantic Ocean
Touloum Refugee Camp in Chad
We find it very difficult to conceive of the size of most refugee camps, but this image drives the notion of mass displacement home very effectively.
The North Pacific Gyre
Also known as the “Plastic Continent,” that swirl in the middle of the picture is chiefly made up of our plastic trash.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (1973)
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2000)
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2007)
Don’t miss this hypothetical satellite image of what Dubai will look like in 2020 (global financial disaster notwithstanding).
Check out this satellite video of the entire world’s air travel over one day.
Also, here’s a listicle of beautiful satellite shots from Oddee.
These are great images. However, your North Pacific Gyre photo is incorrect. That is actually a plankton bloom off Japan. (original image here) The light-colored swirls are the plankton, not trash. Thanks!
[...] is not the gyre you are looking for This photo is all over the internets as a photo of the North Pacific Trash [...]
The northeast blackout image is a hoax - actually a pretty crude job of photoshopping. They didn’t even bother to natch the shade of the supposed “blackout” with naturally dark areas. See http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_blackout_photo.htm
There are lots more amazing - and real - satellite images out there. Keep collecting!