A Map of the World

iulie 2, 2009 in Hermin Abramovitch, art, photography, poze

by =ahermin

Artist’s Comments

NASA unveils “most complete” world map
NASA, the American space agency and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry have released a new digital topographic map of Earth that accurately portrays more of our planet than ever before. CNN reported.

The new map consists of 1.3 million images taken by NASA’s Terra satellite that have been pieced together to form a unified picture of the planet. The images were taken by a Japanese imaging instrument called the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, or ASTER.

“This is the most complete, consistent global digital elevation data yet made available to the world,” said Woody Turner, a program scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington.

The map covers more than 99 percent of Earth’s land mass from north of the Arctic Circle to south of the Antarctic Circle. During February 2000, space shuttle Endeavour mapped about 80 percent of the planet’s surface.