Home, Seen From Above: Earth's Most Breathtaking Views From Space

There is a phenomenon that affects nearly every astronaut who reaches orbit: a shift in perspective sometimes called the Overview Effect. Looking down at Earth from above, you see no borders, no political boundaries — only a thin blue film of atmosphere clinging to a marble in the dark. The oceans and deserts that seem so vast from the surface are revealed as a surprisingly thin smear of biosphere on a small rock. The International Space Station completes sixteen orbits of Earth every day, meaning its crew experiences sixteen sunrises and sixteen sunsets in each 24-hour period. These are the images that bring that impossible vantage point to the rest of us.