NASA Earth Image News: Planet's First True Selfie Released; More Photos Uploaded!
People will now have the chance to see Earth's shot every single day. These images come from the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) with partnership between NASA, Air Force and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera or EPIC is a part of DSCOVR that was launched in February. It is placed between the Earth and the Sun facing the planet's sunlit side for power-disrupting solar storms, as reported on The Christian Science Monitor. The DSCOVR is able to drift in space because of the gravitational pull of the sun and Earth this is how it can take all the pictures of the planet.
NASA EPIC photo of earth is posted 12 to 36 hours after the camera captures it. There will be about 12 photos can be posted a day and when combined, it can show the whole planet's rotation every day, according to The Washington Post.
There are two main purpose of this project. First, to monitor any changes of the planet at a macro-scale, this will include the cloud height and vegetation shifts. Also, to have an image archive over the years to study the Earth's rotation. The primary goal of these images is to check the planet's solar wind, which are the consistent streams of plasma and charged particles from the sun.
The photos will not display any stars surrounding the planet because it is being captured in short exposures, which is 20 to 100 milliseconds long. This will be compared to a 12-megapixel camera and its resolution will be 10 to 15 kilometers, as stated on Live Science Contributor. Seeing the planet in astronaut's perspective made them even more protective of the planet as it is surrounded by space and they push for the act of taking more care of our surroundings for the future.
