If you need a way to escape the chaos of the world right now, check out this breathtaking view of our gorgeous planet, live from the International Space Station!
The ISS (International Space Station), launched in 1998, orbits at 240 miles above the surface of the planet (low Earth orbit). It has a crew complement from a number of different countries (including America, Russia, Japan, Canada and various European countries) where they can conduct experiments in astronomy, biology, meteorology, physics, and more.
It takes 90 minutes for the ISS to orbit the earth, half of which is in darkness. The YouTube feed below switches back and forth between the live feed (when there is something to see) and pre-recorded footage (so you’re not staring at a black screen). It also provides a peaceful musical backdrop to enhance the experience:
But if you prefer just the raw feed, you can find it at Ustream, here.
The advantage of the raw stream is that you might catch a glimpse of the “sunrise” and “sunset” transitions from the light to the dark side of the earth and vice-versa. However, occasionally the raw feed will be interrupted when it changes cameras.
Image via the ISS HD Earth Viewing Experiment, on Ustream.
