This javascript-based visual representation of the Earth spinning in space was developed and shared on the website CodePen by programmer Eric J Nesser.
Holding down the mouse left-click button while scrolling will zoom or change the viewing angle of the representation of the Earth.
See the Pen Earth WebGL Demo by Eric J Nesser (@enesser) on CodePen.
From the International Space Station’s 400 km perch, astronauts like New Jerseyite Scott Kelly have been taking impressive photos of the world over the past almost two decades of the ISS’s use.
Kelly, the current Commander of the Year Long Mission aboard the ISS, has been tweeting his photos to his followers for the duration.
Here are some of the best shots from the space above the Great White North, Canada:
Want to try to guess them? The photographs show:
1. North Vancouver Island and Rocky Mountains
2. Vancouver from above
3. Aurora over Calgary
4. Aurora over Saskatchewan
5. Great Lakes near Salte Ste. Marie
6. North of Georgian Bay, Ontario
7. Montreal from above
8. Quebec City from above
All images NASA
This is ISS’s HDEV (High Definition Earth Viewing) experiment — a live HD stream from several cameras mounted to the External Payload Facility of the European Space Agency’s Columbus module, and has been broadcasting since April 30, 2014.
To protect the cameras, they are encased in pressurized, temperature-controlled housing.
Viewing notes: A black screen is normal when the ISS is flying above parts of the Earth with no lights on the night side of the Earth (it orbits every 92 minutes, so in 30 minutes it will likely be over day again), and there is no sound to the stream. Although the black night view might not be interesting, I recommend you wait — when you see the crescent of the Earth and the red glow of the Sun appear, it is spectacular.
There is also (rare) down-time — meaning there has been a loss of signal with the Earth or that HDEV is not operating: at these times, viewers will see a gray slate or previously recorded video. The live stream frequently switches between cameras — while the cameras switch, viewers will see a grey slate, then a black slate, before seeing the new camera angle.
In the meantime — and relatedly — you can watch the course of ISS live on this other page. It will show you where the ISS is right now, superimposed over the Google Earth map, and you can watch it’s trail accumulate (it travels at 27,600 km/h [17,100 mp/h]).
If you see something great on the live stream, take a screenshot and post it in the comments!
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This collection of photographs was taken by the cameras of the International Space Station from it’s orbit at 319 nautical kilometers (172 miles) from the Earth’s surface. Can you guess what some of these cities are, or even the countries they belong to?
We’ll make it more interesting: This first set of cities are all from the Americas, and they progress from northernmost southwards.
Did you guess any of them? You’ll have to click through to the next set of cities to find out the answers to this set!
Continue: What The World’s Capital Cities Look Like From Space, Part 2
Can a neural network learn to recognize doodles?
See how well it does with your drawings and help teach it, just byplaying.
At QuickDraw.
At Video Feedback Simulator (warning: flashing patterns might trigger health problems)
