Published on April 23rd, 2012 | by James Johnson
0Awesome World. Earth In Super High-Resolution [Video]
The super-high definition technology we have at our disposal these days has come a long way since 8-bit video games and 1-megapixel cameras and showcasing just how far we’ve come this week is University of Victoria student James Drake.
Drake used data collected from the Russian Federal Space Agency’s Elektro-L 1 satellite to string together a beautiful views of Earth from nearly 22,000 miles above the Indian Ocean where the satellite flies in geosynchronous orbit.
The Elektro-L takes one 121-megapixel image every half hour and that image shows a view of the entire planet. While imagery from the Russian satellite is typically used for storm systems (weather forecasting) it also showcases why it makes such a great high end space camera.
Speaking about his project Drake notes:
“The first time I had downloaded the images, I got this sense of wonder and awe. I was looking at this whole disk and it’s almost something that you can hold in your hand — this beautiful intricate marble, covered in a thin crust of water and air.”
Drake discovered the images by accident but has since compiled more than 350 high end photographs which he processed on his own. The images are so high definition in some cases they zoom in on industrial areas in China and fractal river networks in Africa.
Here’s a video Wired put together for Earth day, the video features James Drake’s best discovered super high-definition photos.
If that isn’t enough cool wonderment for you check out this time-lapse video featuring a view of Earth from the International Space Station.