The recently famous “Blue Marble” image of the Earth, has received over 3 million views since being posted online by NASA. It was taken from the VIIRS instrument mounted on NASA’s Suomi NPP Earth observing satellite.
"Blue Marble" image by NASA
Images
These photos were taken by an amateur astronomer who attached a digital camera to his telescope. He sets the telescope up on his front yard and on some occasions takes the photos with just a simple webcam. The following telescopes were used:
- Orion 10″ Reflector
- Astro-Tech AT66ED 66mm
- Orion 8″ Reflector
- Meade ETX-90
So grab your telescope, grab your camera, get outside and see what you can find…