29 Satellite Photos That Will Change Your Perspective On Planet Earth

Daily Overview is a new project that posts one new satellite photograph every day from places around the world that have been touched by human activity. The project was inspired by and based on the idea known as the Overview Effect.

The Overview Effect is the overwhelming and groundbreaking change in attitude and perspective that astronauts experience when they get to see the planet Earth in its entirety, making them appreciate our home planet on a larger scale.The people behind the project want to help inspire appreciation of our planet and the beauty of our everyday environment.

They write: “The mesmerizing flatness seen from this vantage point, the surprising comfort of systematic organization on a massive scale, or the vibrant colors that we capture will hopefully turn your head. However, once we have that attention, we hope you will go beyond the aesthetics, contemplate just exactly what it is that you’re seeing, and consider what that means for our planet.”

Be sure to watch the video below and find out more about the Overview Effect. The project uses images found with Apple Maps that were captured by Digital Globe.

More info: Website | Tumblr | Facebook | Instagram (h/t: TwistedSifter)

Bourtange, Vlagtwedde, Netherlands

53.0066°N 7.1920°E. Bourtange is a village with a population of 430 in the municipality of Vlagtwedde in the Netherlands. The star fort was built in 1593 during the Eighty Years’ War when William I of Orange wanted to control the only road between Germany and the city of Groningen. Bourtange was restored to its mid-18th-century state in 1960 and is currently used as an open-air museum.

Central Park, New York City, New York, USA

40°46’56”N; 73°57’55”W. Central Park in New York City spans 843 acres. That’s 6% of the island of Manhattan.

Barcelona, Spain

41°23′27″N 2°09′47″E

309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group Tucson, Arizona, USA

32.170890°N 110.855184°W

Desert Shores Community, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

36.211001, -115.266914. The Desert Shores Community in Las Vegas, Nevada contains 3,351 units and four man-made lakes.

New Bullards Bar Reservoir, Yuba County, California

39.42903°N 121.13010°W

Residential Development, Killeen, Texas, USA

31.079844, -97.80145. In 2013, there were 923,400 home construction projects in the United States.

Venice, Italy

45°26′15″N 12°20′9″E

Vineyards, Huelva, Spain

37°42′12″N 6°36′10″W. Vineyards swirl on the hills of Huelva, Spain. The climate there is ideal for grape growing with an average temperature of 64 degrees and a relative humidity between 60% and 80%.

Plasticulture / Greenhouses, Almeria, Spain

36.78234°N 2.74315°W. Plasticulture refers to the practice of using plastic materials in agricultural applications. This is visible in the plains and valleys of Almeria, Spain where nearly 20,000 hectares are covered by these greenhouse structures.

Durrat Al Bahrain, Bahrain

25°50′17″N 50°36′18″E. Durrat Al Bahrain will consist of 15 connected, artificial islands (including six atolls, five fish-shaped, and two crescent-shaped). Construction costs are estimated at $6 billion and the project is slated for completion in mid-2015.

Amazon Rainforest Deforestation, Para, Brazil

5°40′S 52°44′W. Clearcutting operations in the Amazon Rainforest of Para, Brazil branch out from one of the state’s central roads.

Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, Newark, New Jersey, USA

40°40′54″N 74°09′02″W

Boca Raton, Florida, USA

26°22′7″N 80°6′0″W

Venture Out RV Resort, Mesa, Arizona, USA

33.411791, -111.723591

Port of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA

33°43′45″N 118°15′43″W

Puente de Vallecas, Madrid, Spain

40.398204°N 3.669059°W

Agricultural Development, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

9°1′48″N 38°44′24″E

Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery, Madrid, Spain

40°25′10″N 3°38′26″W. Our Lady of Almudena Cemetery in Madrid, Spain is one of the largest cemeteries in the world. The number of gravesites - estimated at five million - is greater than the population of Madrid itself.

Palm Island / Hibiscus Island, Miami Beach, Florida, USA

25.783216°N 80.16052°W. Palm Island and Hibiscus Islands are two man-made islands located in Miami Beach, Florida. While the residential neighborhoods on the islands have some of the highest property values in the city, they are also among the first places ordered to evacuate in advance of a hurricane.

Inman Yard, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

33.800083, -84.451936. The Norfolk Southern Railway operates 21,300 miles of track in 22 states, primarily in the Southeastern US. Inman Yard in Atlanta, Georgia, pictured here, is one of the major railyards that houses a portion of the operation’s 3,648 locomotives and 79,082 freight cars.

Spaghetti Junction (A-3 and M-50), Madrid, Spain

40.360051, -3.564548. The A-3 and M-50 highways come together in an interwoven crossroads southeast of Madrid, Spain. This structure is commonly called a “spaghetti junction.”

Agricultural Development, Loxahatchee, Florida, USA

Brøndby Haveby, Brønby Municipality, Denmark

55 ° 38 '12.836031 "N, 12 ° 23' 58.386726" E

Terraced Rice Paddies, Yuanyang County, Yunnan, China

23°09′32″N 102°44′41″E. For the past 1300 years, the Hani people of Yuanyang County, China have cultivated spectacular, terraced rice patties on mountainsides.

Clearcutting in the El Dorado National Forest, Georgetown, California, USA

38°45′01″N 120°20′00″W. 20 acre clearcutting tracts in the El Dorado National Forest.

Central Pivot Irrigation Fields. Ha’il, Saudi Arabia

27°31′N 41°41′E. These circular patterns occur as crops are watered by overhead sprinklers, which are mounted to motor-driven, rotating towers that distribute water evenly throughout the fields.

Great Wall of China, Northern China

40.67693°N 117.23193°E

Edson, Kansas, USA

39°20′14″N 101°32′26″W

"Overview" - a short film explaining the Overview Effect, which inspired the project: