Sci-tech: Time-lapse footage of the Earth

This time lapse of the Earth as seen from the ISS has been online for a while now, but we thought it was worth highlighting for the science geeks who had yet to see it.

Explains NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day web site: "Passing below are white clouds, orange city lights, lightning flashes in thunderstorms, and dark blue seas. On the horizon is the golden haze of Earth's thin atmosphere, frequently decorated by dancing auroras as the video progresses. ...Solar panels of the ISS are seen around the frame edges. The ominous wave of approaching brightness at the end of each sequence is just the dawn of the sunlit half of Earth, a dawn that occurs every 90 minutes."

The "video" is a fan-made effort pieced together from still images released by NASA. You can see more images and video on the see the Crew Earth Observations Videos page.

In order of appearance, the shooting locations were:

1. North-to-south down the western coast of North and South America.
2. North-to-south over Florida, the Bahamas and other Caribbean islands.
3. South-East Asia, approaching the Philippine Sea
4. Western Europe, from France through Italy, Greece, Turkey and the Middle East.
5. Aurora Australis, over the Indian Ocean, approaching Australia
6. Aurora Australis, over the Indian Ocean.
7. Aurora Australis, unknown location in the Southern Hemisphere.

With news that YouTube is converting all of its 1080p videos to 3D, it will be interesting to see this sequence with the lights off on a 52in 3DTV.

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