Earth As Art 2
Science Center Objects
Landsat 7 and the ASTER and MODIS sensors aboard NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellites take you around the world for more stunning views of Earth.
View the Earth As Art 2 Collection now!
Ugab River
Elusive, but ecologically vital, Namibia's Ugab River only flows above ground for a few days each year. The subterranean waters underlying this ephemeral river, however, are shallow enough in places to fill hollows and sustain a wildlife population that includes the rare desert elephant.
- Collection: Earth as Art 2
- Source: Landsat 7
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Whirlpool Cloud
A giant whirlpool cloud, coaxed into shape by high-altitude winds, swirls above the sea between Spain and Morocco.
- Collection: Earth as Art 2
- Source: ASTER
- Download: JPG
Gosses Bluff
142 million years ago, an asteroid or comet slammed into what is now the Missionary Plains in Australia's Northern Territory, forming a crater 24 kilometers in diameter and 5 kilometers deep. Today, like a bull's eye, the circular ring of hills that defines Gosses Bluff stands as a stark reminder of the event.
- Collection: Earth as Art 2
- Source: Landsat
Von Karman Vortices
As air flows over and around objects in its path, spiraling eddies, known as Von Karman vortices, may form. The vortices in this image were created when prevailing winds sweeping east across the northern Pacific Ocean encountered Alaska's Aleutian Islands.
- Collection: Earth as Art 2
- Source: Landsat 7
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Alluvial Fan
A vast alluvial fan blossoms across the desolate landscape between the Kunlun and Altun mountain ranges that form the southern border of the Taklimakan Desert in China’s XinJiang Province.
- Collection: Earth as Art 2
- Source: ASTER
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Campeche
Named after the ancient Mayan Province of Kimpech, the state of Campeche comprises much of the western half of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Rivers in southern Campeche drain into the immense Terminos Lagoon, the entrance to which is protected by a long barrier island, Isla Del Carmen.
- Collection: Earth as Art 2
- Source: ASTER
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Northern Norway
Like dark fingers, cold ocean waters reach deeply into the mountainous coastline of northern Norway, defining the fjords for which the country is famous. Flanked by snow-capped peaks, some of these ice-sculpted fjords are hundreds of meters deep.
- Collection: Earth as Art 2
- Source: ASTER
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Northern Kazakhstan
Mimicking a cubist collage, linear windbreaks of densely planted trees surround farmsteads in this winter landscape near the city of Komsomolets in Northern Kazakhstan.
- Collection: Earth as Art 2
- Source: Landsat 7
- Download: JPG
Sahara Desert
The mountainous outcrops of Jebel Auenat rise 6000 feet above the barren, uninhabited plains of the Libyan Desert. The frontiers of Libya, Egypt and Sudan meet amidst the rugged granite of Jebel Auenat. The mountains are remnants of an ancient granitic dome. Rivers of sand meander around them, swept across the desert pavement by northeasterly winds.
- Collection
Kamchatka Peninsula
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The eastern side of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula juts into the Pacific Ocean west of Alaska. In this winter image, a volcanic terrain is hidden under snow-covered peaks and valley glaciers feed blue ice into coastal waters.
- Collection: Earth as Art 2
- Source: ASTER
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Shetland Islands
Like a many-faceted jewel fashioned in an indigo setting, the Shetland Islands lie 210 kilometers north of the Scottish mainland in the North Atlantic Ocean. Despite their 60 degree north latitude, the Shetlands enjoy a relatively temperate climate thanks to the warming influence of the Gulf Stream.
- Collection: Earth as Art 2
- Source: Landsat 7