Pictures Of The World | Universe Today

Written by Fraser Cain

One of the best benefits of living in the space age is that we get to enjoy some beautiful pictures of the world, from space. Here are some great ones, enjoy!

Here's an image of a portion of the Amazon Rainforest in northern Brazil. This image was taken by NASA's Terra satellite in 2002. You can see the Amazon on the right-hand side of the image and flowing across the picture, joining with other rivers until it meets the ocean.

This is a picture of the Dead Sea in Israel. The yellow region at the top of the image is the city of Jericho, one of the longest inhabited cities in the world. You can also see the city of Jerusalem.

This is an image of the Grand Canyon in Colorado, seen from space. You can see the Colorado River snaking through the landscape near the border of Arizona.

This is an image of the Maldives island archipelago in the Indian Ocean. The archipelago is made up of 1190 separate islands. 300 of these islands are inhabited by 300,000 people.

This is an incredible picture of the Sahara Desert in Northern Africa. Just 10,000 years ago, the Sahara was covered by grass, and roamed by the same animals you can see in other parts of Africa.

We've written many articles about the Earth for Universe Today. Here's an article about a $36 million world map you can get for free, and here's an article about using Google Maps to see the world.

If you'd like more info on Earth, check out NASA's World Book on Earth. And here's a link to NASA's Earth Observatory.

We've also recorded an episode of Astronomy Cast all about planet Earth. Listen here, Episode 51: Earth.

Filed under: Astronomy