Astronomy Picture of the Day |
APOD: 2005 January 2 - Welcome to Planet Earth
Explanation:
Earth, the third planet from a
star named the
Sun.
The Earth
is shaped like a sphere and
composed mostly of rock.
Over 70 percent of the
Earth's surface is water.
The planet has a relatively thin
atmosphere composed mostly of
nitrogen
and
oxygen.
Earth has a single large
Moon that is
about 1/4 of its diameter and, from the planet's surface,
is seen to have almost exactly the same angular size as the
Sun.
With its abundance of liquid
water,
Earth supports a large variety of
life forms, including potentially
intelligent species such as
dolphins and humans.
Please
enjoy your stay on Planet Earth.
APOD: 2004 August 22 - Earth at Night
Explanation:
This is what the
Earth
looks like at night.
Can you find your favorite
country or
city?
Surprisingly, city lights make this task quite possible.
Human-made
lights highlight particularly developed or
populated areas of the Earth's surface,
including the seaboards of Europe, the eastern
United States, and
Japan.
Many large cities are located near
rivers or
oceans
so that they can exchange goods cheaply by boat.
Particularly
dark areas include the central parts of South America, Africa, Asia, and
Australia.
The above image is actually a composite of
hundreds of pictures made by the orbiting
DMSP satellites.
APOD: 1998 May 30 - Water World
Explanation:
Water
(Dihydrogen Oxide, H2O) is a truly
remarkable chemical compound, fundamental
to life on Earth.
Earth is the only planet in the Solar System where
the present surface temperature
and pressure allow
the three forms of water, solid
(ice), liquid
(ocean),
and gas (water vapor condensing
in clouds)
to exist simultaneously.
Water in one of these forms accounts for everything
visible in this view of
Earth from space looking north at
the Bering Sea and the coast of
Alaska, USA, around Bristol Bay.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and
Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific rights apply.
A service of:
EUD at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.