International Space Station Earth Video: Incredible Views Of Sea, Land And Desert

NASA recently released some mesmerizing footage of the Earth from afar.

Captured by the crew members of Expedition 29 aboard the International Space Station in September and October, you'll see some breathtaking video featuring Earth at its darkest.

The first video contains some incredible night views over the Mediterranean Sea. Beginning just west of the Strait of Gibraltar, over the Atlantic Ocean, the final shot concludes in northern Kazakhstan.

If you're after a night pass over the Far East, check out the video that follows. From western Burma to just east of Malaysia on the South China Sea, the pass continues over the northern Balkan Peninsula, with the Black Sea standing out as a dark patch among city lights.

And if you're intrigued to see what Africa and the Middle East have to offer, don't miss the last two videos below. From central Africa to the Sahara desert, you won't be disappointed with these unimaginable views of such vast terrain 220 miles from Earth.

See the newly released NASA video series below.

Mediterranean Sea

Night Pass Over Malaysia

Night Pass Over Central Africa And The Middle East

Evening Pass Over the Sahara Desert And The Middle East

Comments

[KatelynnH]

09:32 PM on 10/28/2011

Beautiful.

[enkrypt3d]

08:55 PM on 10/28/2011

Could these videos be any more low resolution? Come on NASA!

[firebirdam7]

07:41 PM on 10/28/2011

wonderful images.

[TheMadYank]

06:20 PM on 10/28/2011

Who are the four faces seen from 20 to 30 seconds in the Docked Shuttle clip? The one on the left looks like Khaddafi smiling down at us. Could these be reflections of cosmonauts in the Soyuz spacecraft?

[baylormaggenti]

05:49 PM on 10/28/2011

Bombs bursting on land gave proof through the night that freedom takes a stand.

[snideelf]

05:00 PM on 10/28/2011

Hello Space Agencies! The ones that are left, we would like to see this at IMAX. Hundreds of thousands of people would pay admission to see this. Only a much longer version.

[Bienville]

04:23 PM on 10/28/2011

Carl Sagan wondered how space-faring aliens would know whether an industrial civilization occupies the third planet. If only those aliens would look at the night side of the planet.

[raanghaus]

12:54 PM on 10/28/2011

simply gorgeous

[artleads]

12:22 PM on 10/28/2011

I understand how we can be so swept away by modernity that we think Earth lit up like a Christmas tree is a wonderful thing. Actually, it is not. Had the planet been viewed from space prior to the Industrial Revolution, it would have been all dark at night. Then, the parts per million (PPM) of greenhouse gasses were 280 PPM. Today, it is 480 PPM, with the corollary of global warming and an avalanche of climate catastrophes staked up into the future. If a major solar event were to destroy our electric grids, we would perish. We have to find ways to reduce our dependency on electricity, and that would entail Earth being a darker place.

[StinkyPete0279]

02:35 PM on 10/28/2011

Thank you, we were all curious what the primitivist luddites think. You may resume grousing about how fantastic life would be if we were still in trees and hurling our poo at each other in private.

[SirHenryClinton]

04:34 PM on 10/28/2011

He's right. Ironically, you're the only one throwing feces around here.

[enkrypt3d]

04:30 PM on 10/28/2011

haha so how did humans survive without electricity? You really think we would die without power? Aww you can't charge your cell phone or buy that song on itunes? Poor babies.... God forbid us having to hunt for our food again and actually lift a finger to survive.

[SirHenryClinton]

04:39 PM on 10/28/2011

Two points: Without electricity, billions would die. Also, with seven billion people on the planet, the only thing to hunt would be each other.

[sensimilla]

06:22 PM on 10/28/2011

without power there is no food, water, fuel, etc..

[ComoSiempre]

11:36 AM on 10/28/2011

These videos are too cool.

[AsISaid]

10:12 AM on 10/28/2011

Nanoo Nanoo

[WasteNJ]

09:35 AM on 10/28/2011

Awesome visuals. Earth looks so violent and foreboding with all the lightning storms and man-made lighting. I can't help but wonder what an ET would think coming up on Earth for the first time.

[petcraft]

09:30 AM on 10/28/2011

These photos are absolutely AMAZING !

[AncientTerp]

09:28 AM on 10/28/2011

So this is the flimsy evidence that the earth isn't flat?

[Bienville]

04:25 PM on 10/28/2011

No. These are the expensive special effects that NASA produces so that the public will continue to pay for the even more expensive fake space program. Convinced you. Earth is still flat.

[petcraft]

09:14 AM on 10/28/2011

See, parts of the Earth are STILL beautiful !