Earth Picture

We are all conditioned to view Earth as a large blue marble;
which it is, up to a point. The NASA figures we are used to are
the result of a montage of many images. One needs to go back to Apollo missions
to the moon for a one-shot view, with the frayed surface features visible.

We also have a picture from a Russian weather satellite. It all really depends
on the information one wants.

One particularly interesting view is the ESA geoid of gravity;
because gravitational force differs greatly at different points on the globe.
It is a very dramatic image, useful for navigation, oil exploration and...
ballistics!


http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/GOCE/Earth_s_gravity_revealed_in_unprecedented_detail