PHOTOS: Satellites take artistic views of Earth

The Buzz

January 27, 2013

The accompanying images were taken by NASA satellites and a joint NASA/U.S. Geological Survey satellite, which orbits about 440 miles above Earth collecting data that are used to study changes in land cover, forest growth, water resources and the atmosphere.

Irrigation systems near Garden City, Kansas: Light colors are harvested fields; red are still growing.

The satellites' instruments can take in a much broader range of light than is visible to the human eye; some of the images were made using infrared, red and blue wavelengths that bring out details in the terrain.

Rare rock and ice are bright red in this image of eastern Russia's dormant Anyuyskiy volcano.

The Empty Quarter, in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula, is a huge sand desert.

Lake Disappointment, amid sand dunes in western Australia, has salty deposits that look white.

Seventy-five of the images — which span the globe and cover a wide range of terrain — are collected in "Earth As Art," (NASA, $44); they are also available free as an iPad app or an ebook.

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