Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Nasa creates entire world made out of selfies

People on every continent took photos for the giant mosaic

Christopher Hooton
Friday 23 May 2014 15:14 BST
Comments
The space agency curated more than 50,000 pictures for the project
The space agency curated more than 50,000 pictures for the project

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Nasa has harnessed 36,422 images posted to social media to produce a 3.2 gigapixel 'global selfie mosaic'.

View the fully zoom-able image here

The space agency asked people around the world on Earth Day the simple question: 'Where are you on Earth right now?', taking responses in the form of selfies.

Citizens from 113 countries responded on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more, and after weeks spent sifting through the 50,000+ submission Nasa were able to make a composite image of the world out of them.

You can zoom in anywhere in the image, with the selfies being group to replicate views of each hemisphere as seen on 22 April, 2014.

While Nasa scientists have helped identify thousands of new planets in recent years, the space agency studies no planet more closely than our own.

For the first time in over a decade, five missions designed to gather important data about Earth are launching to space this year.

It currently has 17 satellites observing our planet, helping us to better understand our atmosphere, land and oceans.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in