6,000 miles in length and 120 miles wide, this panorama stretches from East Russia to Northern South Africa. NASA calls this work of art ‘The Long Swath’, and it comes in at 19.06 gigapixels.
View full-screen for maximum effect* On April 12, 2013, the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) reached its final orbit, 705 kilometers (438 miles) above Earth. One week later, the satellite's natural-color imager scanned a swath of land 185-kilometers wide and 9,000 kilometers long (120 by 6,000 miles)-an unusual, unbroken distance considering 70 percent of Earth is covered with water.
The full 15 min version, if you have the time, is worth it. The continuous shot shows direct and immediate comparisons and changes on the earth's surface.
On April 12, 2013, the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) reached its final orbit, 705 kilometers (438 miles) above Earth. One week later, the satellite's natural-color imager scanned a swath of land 185-kilometers wide and 9,000 kilometers long (120 by 6,000 miles)-an unusual, unbroken distance considering 70 percent of Earth is covered with water.
You can view the full interactive version on Gigapan, watch the tour video, view the entire panorama in 15 minutes, or load it up on Google Earth.