The newest weather satellite orbited to keep track of the planet's weather - GOES 15 - has sent back its first picture.
The black and white photo, taken Tuesday afternoon, shows the Western Hemisphere in sunshine and cloud, including a huge, swirling storm system off the Antarctic coast.
We don't often get to see fresh pictures of the entire planet. It takes a satellite in geosynchronous orbit - 22,230 miles up - to get it all in one frame.
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And there it is, that fragile sphere where everything we've ever touched, everyone we know, and all our history reside, and whose delicate life-support systems are all that protect us from oblivion.
Here's a link to the high-resolution version.