Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA has captured 20 years of seasonal changes in a striking new global map of the home planet.
The data visualization, released this week, shows Earth's fluctuations as seen from space.
The polar ice caps and snow cover are shown ebbing and flowing with the seasons. The varying ocean shades of blue, green, red and purple depict the abundance — or lack — of undersea life.
NASA oceanographer Jeremy Werdell, who took part in the project, says it's like watching Earth breathe. He says the visualization shows spring coming earlier and autumn lasting longer in the Northern Hemisphere. Also noticeable to him is the Arctic receding over time — and, though less obvious, the Antarctic, too.
Researchers compiled the visualization from satellite imagery.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
