To celebrate Earth Day, we've compiled the best images of our planet as seen from NASA's satellites.
Posted 04.22.2010 at 10:42 am
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Aracar Volcano, Andes Mountains
Despite the amount of preserved lava flows situated at its base might suggest, the Aracar Volcano, located east of the Argentina-Chile border, has been inactive for a long time. Saltwater wetlands, temporary marshes, salt lakes, and salt crust comprise the white areas (called "Salars") pictured near the top.
NASA/JPL/UCSD/JSC
It's the 40th anniversary of Earth Day today. To honor our beloved planet, it's nice sometimes to stop and envy the view enjoyed by such a tiny slice of humanity: the astronauts. Here we've compiled some of our favorite views of Earth from space.
Click to launch the photo gallery
In addition to more conventional images taken from spacecraft and satellites, we've also included more data-rich visualizations of the sort that continue to help us understand our great planet.
Launch the gallery above for images of earthquakes, fires, sunsets, ice shelves and more. Happy Earth Day!
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