A Live View from the International Space Station
Explanation:
If were floating above the Earth right now, this is what you might see.
Two weeks ago, the robotic
SpaceX
Dragon capsule
that delivered supplies to the Earth-orbiting
International Space Station (ISS) also delivered
High Definition Earth Viewing
(HDEV) cameras that take and transmit live views of Earth.
Pictured above,
when working, is the live video feed that switches between four cameras, each pointed
differently.
Watch white clouds, tan land, and
blue oceans
drift by.
The
above video
will appear black when it is
nighttime on the Earth below,
but the space station's
rapid 90-minute orbit
compresses this dark time into only 45 minutes.
The present location of the ISS above the Earth can be found
on the web.
If the video appears gray, this indicates that the view is either being switched
between cameras, or communications with the ISS is temporarily unavailable.
As the
HDEV project continues, video quality will be monitored to assess the effects
of high energy radiation, which types of cameras work best, and which
Earth views are the most popular.
Although
this feed will eventually be terminated,
lessons learned will enable better cameras to be deployed to the ISS in the future,
likely returning even more interesting live feeds.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.