The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place

Dear reader, Too often we see the Earth either up close at street level, or as a flat Google Maps image. But by taking satellite photos of the Earth at an angle, we can gain a unique perspective.

Below are some fantastic images from an article by Planet Labs, a company that provides private satellite imaging used for everything from famers tracking crop growth, to hedge funds analysing store traffic by observing car parking movement.

When you take an image of Monte Fitz Roy from an angle, the view becomes altogether different: the mountains rise to their commanding height, valleys regain their depth, and background features recede into the distance. It’s like getting a view out the window of an airplane 450 kilometers high.

The Pearl-Qatar is a man-made island that extends from the northern fringes of Doha into the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf. High-rise apartment buildings ringing the Pearl’s lagoons provide plenty of prime beachfront real estate.

Shanghai’s Pudong district rests in a bend of the Huangpu River, near the confluence of the Yellow River. The distinctive Oriental Pearl Tower, once China’s tallest structure, is now dwarfed by the nearby Shanghai Tower.

Nestled beneath Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa is one of the world’s most distinctive and photogenic cities. It’s also one of the few major cities adjacent to a world-class national park.

At 979 meters, Salto Angel (Angel Falls) is the world’s tallest waterfall. The drop is so precipitous that on windy days the stream dissolves into a fine mist, not even reaching the Rio Kerepacupai Meru far below.

Nearly continuous activity has coated the snowy slopes of Klyuchevskaya Volcano with dark ash. Every once in a while, Klyuchevskaya will shoot a plume of ash and gas thousands of meters into the air, forcing flights over the Kamchatka Peninsula to be re-routed.

Bora Bora is a classic volcanic island surrounded by fringing reefs. Moist South Pacific air interacting with the island’s steep slopes mean glimpses of Mount Otemanu — Bora Bora’s highest point — are few and far between.

You can view more dynamic satellite imagery at www.planet.com

Yours Sincerely,
Henry Chong

The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place (2003), Explosions in the Sky