#HTE

The Awesomeness of Earth from Above (20 photos)

Only a handful of people have traveled into space to admire the blue marble we call home. Astronauts who have had this privilege describe the feeling of seeing the Earth from above as humbling; only from afar can one understand just how vast and interconnected everything truly is. And while most of humanity will never make it past the ozone, Benjamin Grant’s Instagram project, Daily Overview, has been sharing high definition satellite photographs to give everyone access to this unique perspective. Come October 25, Grant will be publishing “Overview,” a new book that includes more than 200 original images of industry, agriculture, architecture, and nature that highlight graphically stunning patterns across the Earth’s surface. “From a distant vantage point, one has the chance to appreciate our home as a whole, to reflect on its beauty and its fragility all at once,” Grant said. He has shared a selection of those images, some of them previously unpublished, with The Atlantic.

22·182760°, 55·134184° Rub’ al Khali, or The Empty Quarter, is the largest sand desert in the world. It covers 650,000 square kilometers (251,000 square miles), and includes parts of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates. In the center of the desert there are a number of raised, hardened formations that were once the sites of shallow lakes, thousands of years ago. For a sense of scale, this Overview shows approximately 350 square kilometers (135 square miles) in Saudi Arabia, near the border with Oman. (Benjamin Grant / Daily Overview / Amphoto Books / DigitalGlobe)
http://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2016/10/daily-overview-book-benjamin-grant-satellite-images/503912/