Earth from Russia's Elektro-L satellite

This animation, comprised of images taken by the Russian Elektro-L weather satellite from a geostationary orbit at a distance of 36,000 km, shows the changing illumination of Earth as it rotated on the autumnal equinox.

Earth as seen from space during autumnal equinox

Here’s a fantastic view of our home planet taken by the Russian weather satellite Electro-L. And while Elektro-L can take gigantic photographs of the entire planet every 30 minutes, it only can get a fully-lit view like this just twice a year — at the spring and autumn equinoxes. This image was taken during the autumnal equinox on September 22, 2013.

Elektro-L orbits Earth in a geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometers above the equator, and with the Sun exactly behind the satellite on the equinox — the day the north and south poles get the same amount of light — the entire disk is fully lit.

You can see the typhoon Usagi raging over Southeast Asia, clouds and rain over Russia and swirling clouds in the ocean near Antarctica.

Below is an animated gif of the view, going from day to night:

Elektro-L's view of the Earth from  geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometers above the equator, on September 22, 2013. The Russian Elektro-L weather satellite launched in 2011 take gigantic photographs of the entire planet every 30 minutes.

From the Earth and Moon (and Russia) With Love

This stunning picture of the Moon and Earth was taken by Russia’s new Elektro-L spacecraft, a weather-forecasting satellite that launched in January 2011.

This is the first major spacecraft developed in post-Soviet Russia, and it is designed to give Russian meteorologists the ability to watch the entire disk of the planet, thanks to the satellite’s position in the geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometers above the equator.

Uzaydan fotoğraflar (instagramsız)

121 megapiksellik dünya fotoğrafı