Andover Townsman, Andover, MA

Online Extras: News to Note

January 10, 2013

PHOTOS: Satellites take artistic views of Earth

The Washington Post

The accompanying images were taken by NASA satellites and a joint NASA/U.S. Geological Survey satellite, which orbits about 440 miles above Earth collecting data that are used to study changes in land cover, forest growth, water resources and the atmosphere.

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Irrigation systems near Garden City, Kansas: Light colors are harvested fields; red are still growing.

The satellites' instruments can take in a much broader range of light than is visible to the human eye; some of the images were made using infrared, red and blue wavelengths that bring out details in the terrain.

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Rare rock and ice are bright red in this image of eastern Russia's dormant Anyuyskiy volcano.

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The Empty Quarter, in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, is a huge sand desert.

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Lake Disappointment, amid sand dunes in western Australia, has salty deposits that look white.

Seventy-five of the images — which span the globe and cover a wide range of terrain — are collected in "Earth As Art," (NASA, $44); they are also available free as an iPad app or an ebook.

 

 

 

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