Earth I (Pacific Hurricane)

Recalling the famous Apollo-era pictures of Earth taken by lunar astronauts, this digital image is a spectacular portrait of the Western Hemisphere at the time of one of the strongest hurricanes ever observed in the Eastern Pacific.

This combination of science, engineering and artistry was generated by researchers in the Laboratory for Atmospheres at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, using data from three different Earth-observing satellite instruments.

The research team's goal was to assemble an image that recreates the visceral impact of viewing Earth from space with human eyes. The prominent storm raging off the west coast of North America is Hurricane Linda. Other obvious features include the shallow waters of the Caribbean and sediments around the mouth of the Amazon River.