Amazing images of earth from space

As satellites continuously orbit our planet, they cast an eye upon us, taking image after image of how the landscape below is changing.

Nasa has a large collection of these images, which are frequently updated and available to view on its Earth Observation website.

In the past few weeks, there have been some particularly good images, so I thought I’d pull some of them together in a blog and share them with you.

Dust over Oman

This image of Oman, taken on 15 June, shows dust being whipped up from the sandy landscape by a strong north westerly wind before being thrown out across the Arabian sea.

Originally, Oman was braced for heavy rain and flooding from Tropical Cyclone Nanauk, but due to this very dry, dusty air being blown into the storm, it fell apart – starved of the moisture it needed to survive.

So instead of heavy rain and flooding, the region had to deal with reduced visibility as dust filled the air.

Tropical Cyclone Cristina

This beautiful image of powerful beast Hurricane Cristina was taken on 12 June, as she churned away over the eastern Pacific ocean off the coast of Mexico.

Cristina was a particularly active storm for so early in the season, reaching category four, with sustained winds near 150mph.

Despite being such a beast, it posed no threat to land as it drifted across open waters before fading away during the following two days.

Eruption of Sangeang Api

The Indonesian island volcano of Sangeang Api, situated in the Flores sea, erupted explosively on 30 May.

In the image below, large amounts of ash can be see over the island, as the winds in the atmosphere spread it eastwards from the point of eruption on the western tip of the island.

The volcanic ash shut down airports in Bima, Indonesia, and Darwin, Australia. Services to Darwin resumed by 1 June, but Bima remained shut down on 2 June too.

Brazil’s national football stadium

Brazil’s national football stadium, the Estado Nacional, lies close to the centre of the capital Brasilia.

The image below, taken on 28 May, shows the stadium standing out very clearly, characterised by its brilliant white ring, catching the sunlight.

Following renovation in 2010, it is now the second most expensive stadium in the world after Wembley stadium.

Swimming with ice chunks in Lake Superior

Summer may have arrived around the Great Lakes, but there was still a reminder of the extremely cold winter that sent much of Canada and the eastern US into a deep freeze.

The image below, taken on 23 May, shows that Lake Superior was still nearly seven percent ice covered, despite summer-like sunshine and temperatures as high as 27C in the region.

Although the remaining ice melted relatively quickly, there were still a few chunks remaining in the second week of June, according to reports from boaters, fishermen and scientists.

These are a limited selection of the pictures available to view of our planet from Space. You can see many more on Nasa’s Earth Observation website.