This book was made possible in part by NASA’s Visible Earth project, based at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The intrepid explorers at NASA’s Earth Observation System always have eyes on our planet, studying and imaging our blue marble in all its glory.
Some of the photographs in this book were taken by orbiting astronauts, but the majority are not really photographs. They’re images, created by layering different digital processes to highlight the most compelling features of the land below, whether it be aspects of the topography, hydrology, or ecology. A few of the images in this book are false color or otherwise enhanced to better show the landscape; these are identified in captions.
All NASA photographs featured here, and thousands more, are freely shared with the public at visibleearth.nasa.gov.