Landsat turns 30 and celebrates with style

NASA has found a new use for its satellite data – art. This picture comes from a Web gallery celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Landsat series, which has monitored everything from urban growth to insect infestations, as well as helping track forest fires or look for precious minerals. The current model, Landsat 7, took this snap from 705 kilometres above the Earth’s surface in December 2000. It shows the tongue of the Malaspina Glacier, the largest glacier in Alaska covering a whopping 3880 square kilometres. Head for http://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/earthasart to see more Landsat pictures from around the globe.