It"s Earth Day today and we are high above the blue marble looking down on the border between Arkansas and Mississippi. Those small, blocky shapes are towns, fields, and pastures, and the teal green is the mighty Mississippi River. Anyone who has flown in the window seat of an airplane and gazed down at Earth below might wonder why the colors in this image look so unreal. That"s because they are. This image was taken in 2013 by Landsat 7, a NASA satellite that uses thermal infrared sensors to help scientists better distinguish flora, fauna, water, and manmade objects. For almost 50 years, NASA has been using satellite imagery to understand how climate change and population growth are affecting our fragile planet. These satellites help NASA see where deforestation and wildfires are happening, where glaciers are melting, and how rising waters are encroaching on cities.
Gazing down on planet Earth
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Go climb a tree
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Agüero, Huesca province, Spain
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Homeward bound
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Beware the Ides of March
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Grab onto the handlebars, kid
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A tower of remembrance
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World Turtle Day
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Pandas pucker up for International Kissing Day
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Gray seal pup, Norfolk, England
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World Lizard Day
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Prince Christian Sound in southern Greenland
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Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
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Birds of the Drömling
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National Llama Day
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An island in the Highlands
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Falling for Tennessee
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Mardi Gras
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’Chess on ice’
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New Year’s Day in the land of the rising sun
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Oxbow Bend on the Snake River, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
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World Art Day
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Castelmezzano, Italy
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International Day of Light
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Sundance Film Festival
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The Easter Bunny’s story
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Making it work—in Norway
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Swim city
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Is that a buzzing sound?
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Mekong River Delta, Long An, Vietnam
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Where the wildflowers grow