Humans have been observing the cosmos for thousands of years while trying to
understand the nature of the objects seen in the night sky.
But it wasn't until the 20th century that we developed the technology that allowed us to travel
into space turn around and observe our planet in all its glory.
In November 1998 the International Space Station or ISS for short was at the beginning of its construction.
Because of its size and weight the station was taken piece by piece into space and gradually built in orbit around the Earth.
It took two years before it was safe enough for people to
live on the space station and the whole craft wasn't completed until 2011.
The ISS not only serves as a home for astronauts and cosmonauts but it is also
a unique laboratory that allows crew members to do research that could not be done anywhere on Earth.
Since November 2000 239 people from 19 countries have
embarked on a mission to the ISS and each one of them have been lucky enough
to look down and observe our planet from a truly unique perspective.
This incredible time-lapse was taken when the International Space Station was
traveling above Florida in 2017.
The video reveals the Earth's curvature that
is wrapped in a magnificent thin blue atmosphere.
Above the horizon is the
darkness of space but below it's huge cloud formations can be seen from a
bird's eye view as they partly shroud the beautiful color of our planet's oceans.
In the middle of the shot the International Space Station's famous
robotic arm is visible as dark shadows subtly pass over its white surface
Also captured in 2017 was this magnificent time-lapse of the earth at
night time while the ISS passed through an Aurora.
The video reveals a thick
bright green fog that is the result of charged particles from the Sun striking the atmosphere.
These particles are usually guided along the Earth's
magnetic field line to the polar regions which is why people that live in the
northern and southern hemispheres are sometimes lucky enough to see this
majestic display from the ground.
But there is no better view of this
celestial light show that from the International Space Station as this
video confirms.
But it's not just the Magnificent power of the Sun that can
light up the Earth.
Our cities and towns illuminate at nighttime transforming the
Earth's surface into a bright canvas of human activity this time-lapse video was
captured while the International Space Station passed above Russia and reveals
the vast distribution of people below but also the dramatic changes that we
have made to our planets landscape.
Hurricanes are the most violent storms on Earth they unleash a terrifying siege
of devastation as they pass over our towns and cities.
This incredible time-lapse footage of Hurricane Dorian was made up of 350 images that were
captured as the International Space Station passed above in August of this year.
Towards the end of the video the camera zooms in to the eye of the storm
revealing the only calm region of this destructive natural force
2019 also gave us another natural disaster when the remote volcano
Raikoke erupted after 100 years of silence.
This image reveals vast plumes of ash
and gas that is being forced up into the atmosphere via a narrow column but then
eventually spreading out like an umbrella when the plume cannot rise any further.
At the base of the column a white puffy ring of water vapor can be
seen wrapped around the powerful volcanic cloud formation which is
possibly a sign of magma flowing into the sea below.
This incredible photograph
was taken in 2015 as the ISS passed over the Himalaya range in China near the Indian border.
Across the bottom of the image tall mountains can be seen casting
strong shadows against the bright white snow while the top of the image reveals
rivers that have eroded rock creating long channels that cut through the
snow-covered surface.
In 2014 astronauts snapped a spectacular photograph of a
massive dust storm stretching hundreds of miles across the Sahara Desert.
The image shows the storm blowing from the east while huge towering clouds drift
above the sandy landscape.
The African surface is completely blocked from view
by the thick dust making the planet almost look similar to our red neighbor
Mars
The moon is a familiar sight in our night sky but this time-lapse reveals it in a whole new way.
The magnificent video shows our city lights glowing like a
fire that has spread across the planet while flashes of blue lightning crackles
from within the dark clouds.
Our fragile atmosphere starts off as a neon green
but slowly transforms into a deep orange as the moon rises above the horizon like
a bright white orb that is reflecting the sun's light.
The International Space Station provides its crew members with breathtaking views
every day and lucky enough for us down here on the ground many of the crew
members have captured these magnificent moments.
Giving the people of Earth a
chance to witness our home planet in a completely new and spectacular way
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