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Humpday Afternoon Diversion: What Does it Feel Like?

This time-lapse video, taken from the International Space Station, gives us a peek at what it's like to hover over the Earth. Beginning over the Pacific Ocean and continues over North and South America before entering daylight near Antarctica, one is also struck by how low the ISS's orbit appears.

Visible cities, countries and landmarks include (in order) Vancouver Island, Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles. Phoenix. Multiple cities in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. Mexico City, the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, El Salvador, Lightning in the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Lake Titicaca, and the Amazon. Also visible is the earths ionosphere (thin yellow line), a satellite (at about 55 seconds into the video) and an orbital sunrise over the South Pole.

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Comments [rss]

  • The ISS is currently about 240 miles above the planet, though it shifts up and down as much as 50 miles or more. In contrast, the moon orbits about 250,000 miles above the planet, or 1000 times as far as the ISS.

    This is partly what bugs me about the last 30 years of the space program, as it's barely in space. Still, it's better than nothing.

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