From things on the planet's surface, to new perspectives of our world that you can't see
from ground level, join us as we explore 11 most amazing views from ISS.
11.
The Earth Itself I know this may seem like a copout, but let's
think of this in the grander sense.
One of the reasons that the International Space Station exists in the first place is
so that it can do tests in space while still being under the pull of Earth's gravity.
What's more, it rotates around the Earth at a speed of 5 miles per second, which means
that it goes fully around the Earth every 92 minutes!
It's that speed and distance from the Earth (254 miles) that allows it do things like
give us clear images of the planet.
Without this space station, none of these images would be possible.
But just as grand, we get to see the Earth in its entirety from a position that allows
us to see a lot of details.
We get to see things from a perspective we can't even do with drones or aircraft.
Only things like the U-2 Craft are able to go higher than the International Space Station
and they don't let you see what they see up there (save for an episode of Mythbusters
that is).
The International Space Station WANTS you to see the Earth from their viewpoint so badly
that they made a Youtube Channel where you can literally watch a live feed of the planet,
and yes ladies and gentlemen, it is a beautiful thing.
You can see the curvature of the Earth, you can things like clouds forming over certain
areas, you can see the topography of the land meshing with the oceans, as well as how lakes
affect the landscape.
It's wonderful to behold.
So if you haven't given it a look yet, you really should, there's a certain wonder to
seeing our planet from afar.
But if you're looking for more specific things to look at...we can guide you on that too.
10.
Aurora Borealis When it comes to the International Space Station,
one of the best reasons that it is able to get such views of things is because of its
angle compared to the Earth.
We see things from one perspective, but due to the ISS being 250+ miles up in the air,
they get a different look at things, including the wonder that is the Aurora Borealis.
This "light show" if you will is most known for being seen in places like Alaska, Canada
and even Russia, but NASA has gotten the ability to see them in even more spectacular beauty.
At first, they could only see them from a distance, but as they moved closer to them,
they were able to actually go right over the Aurora Borealis as it was beaming over various
parts of the world, and it's beautiful.
In fact, when you look at it from the perspective of the ISS, it kind of looks fake, doesn't
it?
Because it's moving in such a way that it feels like it's 3D or CGI, but it's not, it's
real, and it's even more wondrous on the ISS.
One of the most popular questions when it comes to Auroras is "How are they made?"
The simple answer is that they are created when the Magnetosphere (which is in the atmosphere)
are disturbed by the event known as solar winds.
This causes particles and plasma to be shot high into the atmosphere, losing their energy
in the process, but in return, creates a light show that dances across the sky.
The auroras you see are dependent on the area you're in, the particles and photons that
are in the air at times, and more.
This is also why the auroras have different colors.
Though green is dominant in most shots of them, you can also see reds, blues, yellows,
etc.
Regardless of the color though, the ISS definitely had the best seat in the house when the lights
came on.
You have to wonder though if they'll be able to get even more cool aurora images as time
goes on.
Guess we'll see.
9.
Storms and Lightning Keeping going with the perspective angle on
this, let's talk about storms.
When we're on the ground looking up at them, they seem all consuming.
And when lightning starts flashing and thunder starts booming, you get scared, even if it's
only a little bit.
But up on the International Space Station?
Things look a heck of a lot different.
And it also shows us just how small, or how big, those storms can be.
In this one shot, the ISS can be seen flying above a section of the planet where there
is a large patch of storms just off the coast of some land.
And these storms are so big that they're causing all sorts of lightning strikes.
The light strikes themselves are really cool as you can see their lights coming above the
clouds themselves!
As well as showing just how much area they fill up when they go and do thing like strike
down at the ground.
And yet, when you consider the location of the clouds and the storms, they show how they
don't really cover a lot, even when they're big.
That's because the Earth is bigger in terms of scope than you likely want to admit.
What happens in a few mile radius isn't happen several miles away in many cases.
Now sure, there are storms like blizzards and hurricanes that can cover miles upon miles
of space.
But not always.
Though these images show that when they do come, the people on the ground are right to
be a little afraid.
8.
Sunrise and Sunset Without a doubt, one of the things that humanity
loves to see on the surface of the planet are sunrises and sunsets.
You could even argue that they are some of the most beautiful things we can possibly
see.
The funny thing is though, is that on the ISS the sunrises and the sunsets are even
more beautiful because they're rendered in a different way.
How so?
Well, when the sun rises and sets from our perspective on the ground, we only see a set
path of colors.
Usually it's reds, yellows, and oranges.
That's because the spectrum when it reaches us on Earth is much lesser than when it emits
on the sun.
But, because the International Space Station is higher up in the atmosphere, they get more
of the color spectrum.
How much more?
To the extent that for them, the sunrise and sunset has more of a rainbow feel to them.
Which is a much bigger contrast of colors than what we see.
the other thing you need to remember is that because the ISS is going around the planet
every 92 minutes, it actually sees a LOT more sunrises and sunsets than we do.
How many more?
They see 16 of them before the end of a true "day" for them.
Which has allowed them to study it and its beauty a lot more.
7.
The Stars and the Milky Way I bet you know this, but because of our dependence
on electricity and inorganic light, we're actually making a thing that is known as "light
pollution".
To be clear, this isn't a bad thing in regards to the planet (at least not that we know of...)
but what this really comes down to is the fact that the various lights we are creating
via electricity (especially in big cities where there can be millions of lights going
on all at once) is blocking our view of the skies above.
To be fair, it doesn't seem like it in the daytime because the sky is blue, but at night?
If you're in a big city, you'd be lucky to see a few stars because the lights on the
ground are "covering up" the lights in the sky.
That's also why if you go to the country where there are very few lights, the night sky is
much pretty.
But now I want you to picture how it looks to the people up on the ISS.
Oh yeah, without the lights blocking everything, and without the atmosphere bouncing off certain
spectrums of light, they get a MUCH better view of the stars in the sky, as well as the
Milky Way Galaxy as a whole.
They get to see the stars above unimpeded by everything on the ground, and that helps
them notice things that we honestly can't down here.
Another reason why the position of the ISS was so important, so it could look at things
like the stars and not flinch or wonder what they're "really like".
6.
Shooting Stars When a piece of rock like an asteroid or a
meteor hit our atmosphere, most times they burn up in it as they try and reach the Earth.
But sometimes they do so with such intensity that they burn brighter than a planet, or
even a star at times.
Because of this, from our perspective here on Earth, we see these rocks as "shooting
stars", or if there are enough of them, they see "meteor showers".
Up in the International Space Station, they get a much better view of these events.
They even get to see them enter the atmosphere at times and burn up before we get to see
them on the ground.
And in fact, they see MORE of them than we do on Earth because timing, position, and
atmosphere determines whether you see them at all on the ground, whereas that's not a
requirement on the ISS.
Before we talk about even more amazing views from the International Space Station, be sure
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5.
The West Coast Let's head back to the notion of sunrises
for a bit.
There's no doubt that when a sunrise comes over the horizon it can paint a beautiful
picture for everyone to see.
But on the ISS, that belief comes to light in a whole new way.
This particular picture shows off the West Coast of the United States of America in the
morning time, when the sun brings its rays to all around.
And as you can see, there's a lot to digest here.
While the sun is rising, the land mass of the US is still very much in the dark, and
thus goes and shows of its electric lights to combat the darkness.
Meanwhile, in the star above, you see a lovely green aura if you will seemingly covering
the planet.
This are the kinds of shots you're honestly only going to see because of the International
Space Station.
4.
Moonrise Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the spectrum,
the ISS was able to get a really cool shot of the moon rising to greet the planet.
This shot is not only perfectly timed, but it shows off some cool effects, such as the
purple light being emitted by the mixing of the moon and the planet's position.
It's really neat.
Plus, I bet you never thought the moon shined that bright, you can thank the sun for that.
3.
Hurricane Isabel When a hurricane is born, a lot of people
take notice.
Mainly because it's one of the worst kinds of natural disasters that can possible happen.
They're massive, they can have winds up to 300+ miles per hour, they bring all sorts
of changes to the weather, and can raise the oceans to do serious damage.
But sometimes it's hard to understand just how big and encompassing these things are.
Well, the International Space Station has a pretty good view on things, and they can
show you just how big and dangerous they all are.
Take a look at this particular shot taken of the Hurricane called Isabel.
That whole formation of clouds is Isabel, and that means that everything going on here
is the hurricane, and that makes it massive, especially when you consider the height of
the ISS at this point.
It's looking over a scope of hundreds of miles, and Isabel is filling it up.
Yet quite phenomenally, you can also see the eye of the hurricane, which is documented
as being the most peaceful part of the entire storm.
The ISS honestly does help document and detail hurricanes so that people aren't caught off
guard on the ground, and you can see why they're able to do that.
2.
Egypt Here's a shot that honestly helps you see
a nation in a new light, or in this case, a new color.
This is a shot of Egypt from the ISS.
In this particular case, the shot is of a new day in the nation, and what's very striking
here is the visual nature of the colors and everything that goes with it.
Usually people picture Egypt as a place just covered in sand, and since sand is white or
yellow, they usually picture Egypt being just that.
But as this picture from the ISS shows, it's much more complicated than that.
It has reds, browns, and streaks of other colors that come from its very mixed composition.
1.
The Ocean In the Bahamas To wrap up, how about a truly beautiful image
from the International Space Station?
This is a shot of the waters of the Bahamas.
Isn't that something?
Not unlike a desert, people like to think that the ocean is just a singular shade of
blue, but it's not, not even close.
It's much deeper than that, and it often mixes with things like land (in this case the Bahamas)
in order to get its own unique shading.
Here, you can see how one side of the ocean is much more blue, but then as the "streaks"
pass by the Bahamas, they get lighter in color by the time they reach the other side.
That's a pretty cool view of the water, and they seen many different shades of the ocean
as they pass over the planet.
Thanks for watching everyone!
What did you think of these views from the International Space Station?
Were you amazed by any of the incredible sights that they get to see up there?
Which one of these was your personal favorite of the bunch?
Let me know in the comments below, be sure to subscribe, and I'll see you next time on
the channel!